KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): JF Apex Securities Research has initiated coverage on Ihkmas Jaya Group Bhd with a target price of 81 sen and said the company’s jobs flow in near future will be strong as it  understood that the group was in the midst of bagging some sizeable contracts in piling and building works worth circa RM1 billion in coming months.

In a note today, JF Apex Securities said this under-researched counter deserved a re-rating given its competitiveness and as a formidable participant in the marketplace that provide total multi-skilled solutions with a competitive edge and versatility to secure projects.

“Ikhmas Jaya‘s initial focus was in general civil engineering works and over the course of 20 years the Group has expanded its expertise in covering pilling and foundation, bridges and buildings.

“We expect earnings to grow at 35.7% year-on-year and 32.8% y-o-y for FY16 and FY17 respectively that back by revenue growth of 26.3% and 24.8% for FY16 and FY17.

“The strong growth in earnings is underpinned by its forward order books of circa RM80 million and possible order book replenishment of circa RM750 million in FY15 coupled with improving margin given that Ikhmas Jaya strives to secure higher margin works that preferably include design scope,” it said.