KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): Based on corporate announcements and news flow on Monday, companies in focus on Wednesday (Nov 3) may include: Ibraco Bhd, NCT Alliance Bhd, MR DIY Group (M) Bhd, Dufu Technology Corp Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Ramssol Group Bhd, Impiana Hotels Bhd (Impiana), Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Marine Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd and Trive Property Group Bhd.
Ibraco Bhd, a Sarawak-based property developer, has secured a construction contract worth RM375 million in Kuching, Sarawak. The company accepted the letter of award from Lestari Asiabina Sdn Bhd as turnkey contractor for the job, which involves the construction of road and drain reserves, condominium, apartment and shophouses, on Lot 6036, Block 26, Muara Tuang Land district. Construction works are expected to start from the third quarter of 2022 and be completed by the fourth quarter of 2026.
NCT Alliance Bhd (formerly known as Grand-Flo Bhd) has been appointed to revive two phases of an abandoned project involving 168 bungalow units on 80 acres of freehold land, in Batang Kali, Selangor, that carry an estimated gross development value of RM500 million. The development of phases 2 and 3 of the Genting Valley project was initiated in 2000 but abandoned by the initial developer in 2004. The company said it has been proposed by the liquidator to undertake the scheme proposal to revive the development.
MR DIY Group (M) Bhd posted a lower net profit of RM90.35 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) down 20.36% from RM113.45 million from a year ago, despite higher revenue as it saw higher operating expenses from higher store count, while outlets remained closed during the Covid-19 movement restriction measures. The home improvement retailer’s revenue was higher at RM768.02 million, up 3.75% from RM740.23 million a year ago. MR DIY declared a dividend of 0.65 sen per share or RM40.8 million with the ex-date on Nov 29. The group has 841 stores under its operations, up 22% from a year before, and is confident of delivering long-term sustainable growth.
Dufu Technology Corp Bhd's net profit jumped 57.51% in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) to RM20.25 million from RM12.86 million in the same quarter a year ago as it enjoyed higher revenue, economies of scale and a favorable product mix. Revenue rose 19.8% to RM90.99 million from RM75.95 million, mainly due to the higher volume loading by customers related to Hard Disk Drives (HDD) components, Dufu said in a bourse filing Tuesday. For the nine months ended Sept 30 (9MFY21), Dufu’s net profit climbed 50.92% to RM55.69 million from RM36.9 million in 9MFY20, as revenue rose 21.85% to RM258.71 million from RM212.31 million. On prospects, the group said it is seeing a healthy flow of orders from existing customers, as well as new customers.
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd has confirmed that the prices of some of its drinks will be revised from the middle of this month to account for rising costs, as per a leaked letter that had been making the rounds on WhatsApp. Carlsberg Malaysia told theedgemarkets.com that the contents of a letter dated Oct 14 is an official communication from the company to its trade partner. “We would also like to reiterate that the price adjustments are to our trade partner and we do not determine retail (consumer) prices, which are set independently by our customers.” The letter, signed by the group’s sales director Gary Tan, said the new prices for beer and stout would take effect from Nov 15.
Ramssol Group Bhd (Ramssol) and Impiana Hotels Bhd (Impiana) announced that they have entered into a two-year partnership to provide Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) certified training programmes for Malaysia’s workforce to support post-pandemic economic recovery through upskilling and reskilling. Both companies are targeting approximately RM100 million in training value over the next 24 months.
Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd has warned of rising commodity food prices as a key challenge in 2022, as it announced a 15.3% growth in its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) to RM148.02 million from RM128.39 million a year ago. Revenue for the fast moving consumer goods company rose 3.62% to RM1.44 billion from RM1.39 billion. Nestlé also declared an interim dividend of 70 sen or RM164.15 million for FY21 with an ex-date of Dec 15.
Hartalega Holdings Bhd's net profit shrank 59.55% to RM914 million from RM2.26 billion in its second quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (2QFY22), as revenue almost halved to RM2.01 billion from RM3.9 billion a year ago. This marks the first time that the glove maker’s quarterly profit dipped below RM1 billion since surpassing the mark for three straight quarters. An interim dividend of 35.2 sen was also declared, to be paid out on Dec 2. Hartalega said the drop in earnings was predicated on decreased sales revenue, higher operating costs from lower plant utilisation rate, and lower profit margins as the drop in prices of raw materials was not in tandem with the drop in the average selling price (ASP) for gloves.
Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) reported a net loss of RM23.88 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) compared to a net profit of RM2.64 million a year earlier, as the company’s heavy engineering and marine units registered operating losses due to factors such as the Covid-19 movement restrictions. Its revenue however rose to RM389.29 million from RM369.46 million a year ago. The marine engineering group also said that it aims to replenish its order book by diversifying into new segments and regions but did not specify what segments or regions it plans to diversify into.
Trive Property Group Bhd plans to undertake a private placement to raise up to RM19.9 million by issuing 342.9 million shares (up to 20% of its issued shares) to third party investors to be identified, to upgrade its newly acquired office building, Persoft Tower. While the actual issue price is yet to be fixed, the expected proceeds to be raised is based on an illustrative price of 5.8 sen per placement share.