KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus tomorrow (Oct 16) may include: LPI Capital Bhd, Crest Builder Holdings Bhd, Metronic Global Bhd, Advancecon Holdings Bhd, Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, Seremban Engineering Bhd (SEB), GD Express Carrier Bhd (GDEx), Telekom Malaysia Bhd, and UMW Holdings Bhd.
LPI Capital Bhd's net profit fell 4.35% year-on-year to RM87.82 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (3QFY19) from RM91.81 million a year ago, mainly due to higher claims incurred and lower interest income received, while revenue was 8.51% higher at RM423.84 million, from RM390.59 million.
For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2019, net profit rose 2.48% to RM235.76 million, from RM230.05 million a year ago, while revenue gained 7.01% to RM1.2 billion from RM1.12 billion.
Crest Builder Holdings Bhd's subsidiary Crest Builder Sdn Bhd (CBSB) has bagged a RM155.1 million contract from Glomac Segar Sdn Bhd, for the construction of a proposed plaza within a Kelana Jaya mixed commercial development at Jalan SS7/13A in Petaling Jaya.
Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the largest shareholder of Metronic Global Bhd with 29.01% equity interest, has requested the company to appoint an independent auditor to conduct a special audit on the corporate activities exercised this year, which comprises an executives' share option scheme (Esos), a joint venture and a proposed private placement, as well as the company's cash flow position.
Lee instructed his solicitors to write to Metronic's board of directors on Sept 30, 2019 about the special audit and the appointment of an independent auditor.
Advancecon Holdings Bhd’s unit Advancecon Infra Sdn Bhd (AISB) has bagged two contracts worth a combined value of RM50.49 million for sub-contract works in Sarawak and Seremban respectively.
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd has appointed Datuk Abdul Jalil Abdul Karim as its new managing director, effectively immediately, taking over from Datuk Zainal Abidin Salleh, who resigned due to health reasons. Abdul Jalil was previously the chief executive officer of Merge Energy Bhd.
Seremban Engineering Bhd’s (SEB) new controlling shareholder MIE Industrial Sdn Bhd has raised its stake in the company by 2.35 million or 2.95% shares at 50 sen per share to 72.67% or 57.9 million shares, from 69.72%, after the close of a mandatory general offer (MGO).
It has also received acceptances for 0.02% or 14,600 shares under the offer, which are subject to verification, after the posting date and up to the closing date.
Separately, SEB announced a slew of resignations from its board. Its chief executive officer See Boon Chun has resigned with immediate effect, citing other business commitments. The company's non-independent and non-executive director Tan Ah Bah @ Tan Ah Ping, has also stepped down from his position, citing a similar reason. Executive director Wong Wai Hung has also quit the board to focus on operational matters.
GD Express Carrier Bhd (GDEx), which has been on the hunt for a last-mile delivery partner in Vietnam for the past three years, is taking up a 50% stake in Vietnamese courier and logistics service provider Noi Bai Express and Trading Joint Stock company (Netco) for VND76.73 billion (RM13.85 million).
The group said the proposed acquisition, to be funded with internal funds, is in line with its regional ambition to build a sustainable Southeast Asia delivery network
Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM)’s business solutions arm TM ONE and UMW Holdings Bhd’s unit UMW Corp Sdn Bhd signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) for the development of digital solutions yesterday to enhance and empower Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) requirements for industries in Malaysia.
Through the partnership, both TM ONE and UMW Corp would embark on joint research activities to enable the development of a home-grown Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) platform via the integration of UMW's IoT solution on industrial machines with TM ONE's IoT software platform.