KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Magna Prima Bhd rose as much as 4.5% today to RM1.16 after announcing that its net profit increased more than three times in the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 (1QFY15).

At 2.55pm, the counter was trading at RM1.15, up 4 sen or 3.6%, with 1.46 million shares changed hands. 

As comparison, FBM KLCI was down 5.54 points or 0.31% to 1799.95 point.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Magna Prima (fundamental: 0.15; valuation: 0.3) recorded a net profit of RM64.67 million in 1QFY15, up almost three and half times from RM18.89 million in 1QFY14; revenue was up 193.12% to RM390.58 million from RM133.25 million a year earlier.

Magna Prima said the improvements in its top and bottom lines were mainly due to the completion of "The Istana" project in Melbourne.

The company also said it is optimistic about the group financial performance of the current financial year in view of the realisation of the Istana project and significant progress of Phase 1 of the Jalan Kuching Commercial Centre project. 

(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.)