KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Shares of Hiap Teck Venture Bhd rose as much 5.5% to 58 sen after the company disclosed that its integrated steel mill to begin mass production in March next year.

As at 12.07pm, the steel manufacturer’s share price went up steadily from its reference price of 55 sen to a high of 58 sen, with 126,100 units changing hand.

Hiap Teck’s integrated steel mill, located in Teluk Kalong Industrial Estate, has a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per month.

However, Hiap teck’s net profit plunged 80% to RM2.85 million in its first quarter ended Oct 31 of financial year 2015 from RM14.06 million a year ago.

According to The Edge Research, the company’s fundamental score stands at 0.65 and its valuation score is at 2.40 in the scale of zero to three, with 3 the highest score.

Fundamental score is rated based on the company’s balance sheet strength and profitability; while the valuation score was rated based on the company’s historical return.

In a note today, Affin Hwang Capital maintained its “Buy” call for Hiap Teck with a lower target price of 75 sen after cutting its average selling price (ASP) assumptions by 2-3%.

The research house also lowered its FY15-17 earnings forecasts by 23-6% after lowering its ASP assumptions by 2-3%.  

“We believe that most of negative news has already been reflected in the weak share price. Hiap Teck’s outlook for 2015 will continue to be challenging on the back of weak external outlook and persistent dumping activities,” Affin Hwang Capital said.