NOTABLE filings

Between Jan 19 and 23, notable shareholding changes included the emergence of Mondrian Investment Partners Ltd as a substantial shareholder in AMMB Holdings Bhd (fundamental: 1.7; valuation: 3.0) with a 5.28% stake.

The acquisition of 151.46 million shares was made on Jan 20, a filing dated Jan 21 showed. Subsequent filings indicate that Mondrian raised its stake to 152.57 million shares on Jan 21 but began selling on Jan 23. As at Jan 26, it had 151.95 million shares or 5.04% equity interest. A London and Philadelphia-based investment firm, Mondrian also has substantial stakes in KKB Engineering Bhd and Wellcall Holdings Bhd.

On Jan 28, theedgemarkets.com reported a major shake-up of AmBank Group’s top management, including the departure of group managing director Ashok Ramamurthy, citing sources. AMMB fell 3 sen to close at RM6.57 on Jan 28.

Over at Biosis Group Bhd (fundamental: 0.0; valuation: 0.3), Hamzarul Hazmir Hamdan emerged as the second largest shareholder of the healthcare and beauty products manufacturer after acquiring 10 million shares or a 9.52% stake off market at undisclosed prices on Jan 16. Filings show only 10 million shares changed hands at 25 sen apiece via two direct deals that day.

Hamzarul is the second investor to emerge as a substantial shareholder of the Practice Note 17 company. Last October, Erwan Azizi became Biosis’ largest shareholder after acquiring 20 million shares or 19.05% equity interest.

Khoo Lay Tatt, a non-executive director of Dufu Technology Corp Bhd (fundamental: 1.35; valuation: 1.20), disposed of his entire five million shares at 29.5 sen to 30.5 sen apiece between Jan 21 and 26. Dufu’s board said on Jan 28 that it “was not aware of any situation that would trigger potential corporate restructuring to Dufu” and it had not received any notice of takeover from Inari Amertron Bhd (fundamental: 2.30; valuation: 1.50) seeking to buy a substantial stake in it.

Meanwhile, DutaLand Bhd’s (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.90) largest shareholder Tan Sri Yap Yong Seong increased his stake in the property development and investment group to 42.5% after buying 16.92 million shares or about 2% of the share base at 51 sen apiece via Duta Equities Sdn Bhd.

A Jan 21 filing showed that Seni Kasuari Sdn Bhd disposed of 16.86 million shares or 1.99% equity interest in DutaLand, cutting its holdings to 8.21%. According to information from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Seni Kasuari’s sole shareholder is Abdul Razak Jalil.

Notable movements

Datuk Gan Kim Huat, largest shareholder of SKP Resources Bhd (fundamental: 2.50; valuation: 0.30), disposed of 10 million shares or a 1.11% stake in the plastic moulding manufacturer on Jan 21 in a direct deal at 82 sen apiece. He still holds a 16.34% stake directly and is deemed interested in another 49.51% post-disposal.

At its recent high of 83 sen on Jan 21, SKP had appreciated 38.3% from its recent low of 60 sen on Dec 18, 2014. Closing at 76.5 sen on Jan 28, the stock is still up 19.4% year to date. On Jan 6, SKP’s shareholders approved a RM200 million acquisition of three Tecnic Group Bhd units, to be satisfied with 172.4 million new SKP shares issued at 58 sen each and RM100 million cash.

Closing at 66 sen last Wednesday, shares of condom and baby products maker Takaso Resources Bhd (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.30) were down 7.7% from their recent high of 71.5 sen on Jan 23 but were still up 23.36% or 12.5 sen year to date.

OCR Land Holdings Sdn Bhd — which emerged as a substantial shareholder with a 6.31% stake on Dec 17, 2014 — bought another 15 million shares or 7.57% equity interest at 65 sen apiece on Jan 23, raising its stake to 13.88%. Takaso’s largest shareholder, Ong Kah Hoe, owns OCR Land. Takaso’s subsidiary, Takaso Land Sdn Bhd, on Jan 12 bagged a RM37.44 million contract from OCR Land for the construction of a 21-storey commercial building, marking the former’s diversification into construction.

Note: The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on February 2-8, 2015.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.