KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 6): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Wednesday (Aug 7) may include: Mah Sing Group Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd, Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd, Fraser and Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N), Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Parkson Holdings Bhd, Unisem (M) Bhd, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd, PRG Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd's (Masteel), Ta Win Holdings Bhd and Malaysia Pacific Corp Bhd (MPCorp).

Mah Sing Group Bhd is acquiring an approximately 1.81ha (4.52-acre) land along Jalan Wangsa Melawati 1 here for RM61.97 million, to develop two blocks of condominiums with an estimated gross development value of RM378 million.

Mah Sing said the tract is a leasehold land expiring on Jan 21, 2117.

Independent advisor Mercury Securities advises loss-making Tasek Corp Bhd’s minority shareholders to accept the revised takeover offer of RM5.80 per share by Singapore-listed Hong Leong Asia Ltd.

Mercury Securities commented that the revised offer  for the ordinary shares is “fair and reasonable”. However, the offer of RM5.80 for preference shares is “not fair but reasonable”, according to the filing by Tasek to Bursa Malaysia.

Mercury Securities is of the view that the RM5.80 offer, which has been raised from RM5.50 previously, is 47 sen to 69 sen higher than the range of estimated value of Tasek’s ordinary shares, representing a premium of between 8.82% and 13.5%.

Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd is demanding RM1.02 billion as compensation from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and the latter's exploration arm Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB), over what it claims to be an unwarranted suspension notice.

It said the sum is, among others, based on the loss of future profits, reputation and market share prices, as a result of the three-year suspension notice issued by Petronas on July 8, on the licence of Barakah's wholly-owned PBJV Group Sdn Bhd.

Barakah said the notice was issued after the completion of a contract to provide underwater services for PCSB, and was issued — according to Petronas — based on grounds of adverse reports of PBJV's performance.

Fraser and Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N)'s third quarter net profit rose 10% to RM114.94 million, from RM104.5 million a year earlier, on the back of better performance from its Thai operations and marginally better results from its Malaysian operations.

Earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 (3QFY19) rose to 31.3 sen, from 28.5 sen previously.

Quarterly revenue increased 10.9% to RM1.07 billion from RM961.89 million, thanks to higher contribution from its food and beverage (F&B) segments in Thailand and Malaysia.

F&N said its cumulative net profit for the nine months ended June 30, 2019 (9MFY19) rose 12.6% to RM342.23 million, from RM303.89 million in the previous corresponding period, with revenue up 6.1% at RM3.1 billion, from RM2.92 billion.

Hartalega Holdings Bhd, the world's largest nitrile glove producer, saw its net profit fall 25% to RM94.06 million in the first financial quarter ended June 30, 2019 (1QFY20), from RM124.87 million a year ago, on lower sales volume and higher costs.

This resulted in a lower earnings per share of 2.81 sen for 1QFY20, compared with 3.77 sen for 1QFY19.

Quarterly revenue also fell 9% to RM640.1 million, from RM706.35 million a year ago.

Department store operator Parkson Corp Sdn Bhd, which shut its 20-year-old store in Suria KLCC earlier this year, has shut another store — the Parkson M Square Mall in Puchong, Selangor. The store, which shuttered on June 30, was operational for a mere 18 months.

A spokesperson from Parkson Corp who confirmed the closure, said sales were below expectations.

Parkson Corp is wholly-owned by Parkson Retail Asia Ltd, which in turn is 68%-owned by Parkson Holdings Bhd.

Semiconductor player Unisem (M) Bhd saw its net profit more than halve to RM14.45 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19), from RM31.14 million a year ago, on lower sales volume.

This resulted in a lower earnings per share of 2 sen for the current quarter, compared with 2.5 sen in 2QFY18. Revenue for the quarter came in 9.1% lower at RM311.93 million, from RM343.2 million.

Nevertheless, Unisem declared an interim dividend of two sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2019 (FY19), payable on Sept 6.

The weak quarterly performance dragged the group's net profit for the cumulative six months (1HFY19) down by 44.9% to RM20.51 million, from RM37.2 million a year ago, while revenue fell 7.5% to RM615.06 million, from RM664.75 million in 1HFY18.

Going forward, Unisem expects uncertainties stemming from the global trade war to continue into the second half of its financial year (2HFY19).

Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd announced today that three of its Indonesian plants  underwent an unplanned shutdown on Sunday, due to a 12-hour power outage.

Electricity supply to these plants has since been fully restored and the group said it is now working to restore operations of these plants, to normal.

The plants are located in Merak, Cilegon, in the Banten Province of Indonesia, and the power outage had occured in certain parts of Java from 12 noon on Sunday (Aug 4), it said.

PRG Holdings Bhd's 54.19%-owned subsidiary Furniweb Holdings Ltd has issued a profit warning to its shareholders and potential investors that it expects to record a net loss of RM4.2 million for its six months ended June 30, 2019 (1H2019), compared with a net profit of RM600,000 during the same period a year earlier.

Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd's (Masteel) standalone credit profile remains vulnerable to fluctuations in steel price, fluctuating cost of raw materials and increased competitive pressures in the Malaysian market, according to Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC).

MARC said given Masteel's relatively modest market position in the production of steel billets and steel bars, which are mainly for local consumption, these factors have weighed on its profitability margins.

Nonetheless, the rating agency has affirmed its AAA IS(fg) rating on Masteel's RM130 million Sukuk Ijarah programme, with a stable outlook.

MARC said the affirmed rating and outlook are based on the unconditional and irrevocable financial guarantee insurance provided by Danajamin Nasional Bhd.

Ta Win Holdings Bhd saw its rights shares and irredeemable convertible preference shares (ICPS) with warrants, oversubscribed by 54.83%.

Ta Win said it has received total valid acceptances and excess applications for 369.79 million rights shares and 739.58 million ICPS, compared with the 238.84 million rights shares and 477.68 million ICPS made available for subscription.

The rights shares, ICPS and warrants are expected to be listed on Aug 13.

Practice Note 17 (PN17) company Malaysia Pacific Corp Bhd (MPCorp) will resume trading of its shares starting tomorrow (Aug 7), after the stock having been suspended for a year.

This comes on the heel of an immediate effect in the termination of the winding-up order today, that was filed by RHB Bank Bhd over unpaid debts back in June last year.

Notably, the company has filed an application for the termination of the winding-up order on July 19, 2019.