Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 19): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus on Tuesday (Aug 20) may include: Icon Offshore Bhd, Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd, Guan Chong Bhd, OSK Holdings Bhd, Mintye Bhd, Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) and Sunway Construction Bhd (SunCon).

Debt-laden offshore support vessel (OSV) operator Icon Offshore Bhd is making a cash call to raise up to RM250 million fresh capital and to restructure RM370.66 million of debt, partly by issue of new shares. 

Its single largest shareholder Ekuinas Nasional Bhd, which holds its 42.3% stake through Hallmark Odyssey Sdn Bhd, is committed to subscribe up to RM183 million of the proposed rights issue that is sweetened by free warrants, Icon Offshore said in a statement. 

To pave way for the rights issue, Icon Offshore, which share price is trading below 10 sen, will also undertake a share consolidation exercise, according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia this evening. 

Additionally, Icon said it is also restructuring its debt by executing supplemental agreements with its various lenders.

Financially-stressed Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd is facing an uphill task of finding a white knight to salvage the newspaper group, which has debts of RM139.19 million as at June 30.  

It said it is “impossible for the group to convince potential investors to revive the business”, as “a few potential identified parties has declined to participate, due to [the] group’s huge liabilities”.

Utusan has turned in a seventh consecutive quarterly net loss at RM3.89 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19). Its quarterly revenue had more than halved to RM25.91 million, from RM63.87 million in the year-ago quarter.

Cocoa grinder Guan Chong Bhd’s net profit rose 42% year-on-year to RM60.1 million or 12.77 sen per share in its second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19), thanks to higher sales volume of cocoa products, which pushed revenue up 53% to RM753.06 million.

In contrast, the group posted a net profit of RM43.03 million or 9.01 sen per share in the same period last year, when revenue was RM491.58 million.

The group declared a second interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share, in respect of its FY19, payable on Sept 27, its stock exchange filing today showed.

OSK Holdings Bhd is partnering Japan’s Marubeni Corp, one of the world’s largest independent power producers, to jointly bid for a large scale solar photovolatic plant in Peninsular Malaysia, under the government’s third cycle of the scheme (LSS3).

It said the two parties signed a term sheet today, under which OSK holds a 51% participating interest and Marubeni the balance 49%, to jointly develop, operate and maintain the LSS3 project.

Automotive friction materials maker Mintye Bhd said its controlling shareholder, Yatee & Sons Sdn Bhd, has offered to take the group private. 

Yatee offered to pay shareholders who hold the remaining 24.82 million shares or a 40.83% stake, a total capital repayment of RM32.27 million or RM1.30 per share, which is a 35.42% premium to the last closing price of 96 sen last Friday. 

Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) posted a net loss of RM41.38 million in the two months ended June 30, 2019 — its first loss-making period in 15 years since 2004 — mainly due to a RM78.43 million impairment of goodwill and assets from a disposal.

It said that without "the impairment of goodwill and assets of the disposal group of leasing of lottery equipment business in the Philippines" that was included under its investment-related expenses, it would have registered a pre-tax profit of RM51.6 million for the period. 

Its revenue for the quarter came in at RM974.92 million, mainly contributed by sales from the number forecasting operating (NFO) business at Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Sports Toto) and the auto retailing business operated by H.R. Owen Plc. 

Lower revenue from construction segment and higher-income tax expenses pulled down Sunway Construction Bhd’s (SunCon) net profit for a consecutive quarter for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19), by 7.23% to RM33.19 million, against RM35.77 million a year earlier. 

Quarterly revenue contracted 19% to RM440.18 million, from RM544.28 million a year ago (2QFY18). 

For its 6MFY19, SunCon said its net profit dropped by 10.26% year-on-year to RM64.20 million, from RM71.54 million in 6MFY18. Meanwhile, its revenue dived 18% to RM880.21 million, from RM1.07 billion. 

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