KUALA LUMPUR: Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Wednesday (October 11) may include: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd, AWC Bhd, Ireka Corp Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Mega First Corp Bhd, PRG Holdings Bhd and TH Heavy Engineering Bhd.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) posted a 4.7% year-on-year growth in passenger traffic in September this year, with combined passenger volume of 10.8 million in all its airports including Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (Istanbul SGIA).
For Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), passenger movements grew 5.5% y-o-y to 4.7 million. Passenger traffic for the Main Terminal dipped 3.4% while klia2 saw a 15% on-year improvement.
As for MASB airports (airports apart from KLIA handled by Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd), passenger movements increased slightly by 0.9% y-o-y to 3.1 million passengers. International passenger movements grew 12.5% to 600,000 passengers, Asean traffic rose 5.4% y-o-y to 300,000 passengers while non-Asean traffic improved 24% to 300,000 passengers.
Meanwhile, Istanbul SGIA saw a 7.9% hike in passenger traffic to 2.9 million passengers. International and domestic passengers expanded by 9.5% and 7.1% respectively to one million and 1.9 million respectively.
Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd won a RM168 million contract to carry out infrastructure works for the Kertih Biopolymer Park in Terengganu.
Muhibbah said the contract from the East Coast Economic Region Development Council is for the construction of major earthworks, road and drainage works, utility services and other associated works.
The RM130 million contract awarded to AWC Bhd by the federal government to maintain the Integrated Transport Terminal in Bandar Tasik Selatan (BTS) has been terminated after over one year of deference.
AWC’s wholly-owned unit Ambang Wira Sdn Bhd and the government have mutually agreed to end the five-year contract, which was initially awarded on June 9, 2016.
The government made no payment to Ambang Wira during the contract period, said AWC, as the subsidiary did not perform any maintenance works since it was first awarded the contract.
This, it said, came as the commencement date for the maintenance of the terminal had been deferred indefinitely on Aug 26, 2016, pending the resolution of certain operational and technical matters between the government and the existing contractor for TBS.
AWC acknowledged that the contract termination will negatively impact its financial performance over the intended duration of the original contract. However, the effect is expected to be minimal as AWC has secured other new contracts over the last three months as had been previously announced.
Ireka Corp Bhd bagged a RM60.75 million contract to conduct refurbishment and improvement works for two hospital blocks at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
Pantai Medical Centre Sdn Bhd awarded the contract to its wholly-owned unit Ireka Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd.
The job includes refurbishment of the 12-storey Block B, and improvement and additional works for the six-storey Block A. Works on Block A should be completed by Jan 15, 2018, whereas additional works for Block B is planned for completion by June 15, 2018.
KNM Group Bhd has secured Chinese utility contractor China Western Power Industrial Co Ltd (CWPI) as the long-awaited financier for the first phase of its Green Energy Project power plant in Peterborough, UK.
KNM also awarded the Chinese company the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract worth £346 million (RM1.9 billion) for Phase 1 of the biomass waste-to-energy plant, which will have a capacity of 36MW, double its initial planned capacity of 18MW.
Phase 1 is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2018 for a period of 37 months, said KNM chief executive officer Lee Swee Eng at the EPCC contract-signing ceremony here today.
The Peterborough project — with total expected capacity of 80MW — is KNM's second renewable energy venture after the commissioning of its 200,000 liter-per-day bio-ethanol production plant in Thailand.
Mega First Corp Bhd secured a US$150 million (RM634.88 million) loan to part-finance the construction of the Don Sahong hydropower project in Laos.
Its wholly-owned subsidiary Mega First Investments (L) Ltd had yesterday entered into facility agreements with various financial institutions for the "club deal facilities". The US$150 million loan comprises conventional term-loan facilities of US$85 million and an Islamic financing scheme of up to US$65 million.
PRG Holdings Bhd is set to develop its first affordable housing development in Ipoh, Perak with Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) once it has acquired the parcels of land there for the remaining sum of RM8.63 million.
Its wholly-owned unit Premier Construction Sdn Bhd (PCSB) entered into a mutual agreement (MA) with SPNB’s unit, SPNB Aspirasi Sdn Bhd (SASB), and Cash Key (Ipoh) Sdn Bhd (CKISB), the registered owner of the 213 parcels of land today.
The land had initially cost a total of RM9.98 million, and SASB had already paid CKISB RM2.35 million based on a previous joint development agreement (JDA) between the two parties in February last year.
The MA inked today saw the three parties agreeing to mutually terminate the JDA and for PCSB to pay the remainder of the land cost to CKISB.
Based on the previous agreement, CKISB had agreed to dispose of the land to SASB and subsequently complete the project as SASB’s contractor under the housing scheme known as “Cadangan Pembangunan Rumah Aspirasi Rakyat di Mukim Sungai Terap, Daerah Kinta, Perak.”
So far, SASB has only made part payment for the land although planning permission had been obtained and the building plans as well as earthworks and road and drainage plans had been approved for the project.
The new agreement will see PCSB and SASB establishing a joint venture company called Premier Aspirasi (Batu Gajah) Sdn Bhd for the development.
Loss-making TH Heavy Engineering Bhd said its oil and gas fabrication unit has once again been barred by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) from various job scopes due to its “non-performance” in a Sabah project, this time without a specified timeline.
THHE Fabricators Sdn Bhd (TFSB) received the letter on the exclusion from Petronas on Monday.
THHE said the latest exclusion was in relation to TFSB’s “non-performance in relation to a contract known as “Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (PCC) of KNPG-B Topside PH II, Kinabalu Non-Associated Gas (NAG) Development Project” (PH II Kinabalu Project).
TFSB is currently facing a two-year ban from participating in tenders by Petronas Carigali since April 4, 2016, due to what Petronas Carigali described as “non-performance” on TFSB’s part under the same contract.
Petronas has now excluded TFSB from being a main contractor, conducting major fabrication works, as well as any engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and/or commissioning works, not just for all its subsidiaries, but also for any Petroleum Arrangement Contractors (PACs). The exclusion takes effect from the date of the letter.
THHE said it will seek clarification from Petronas, as the contract mentioned had been novated to a third party on Oct 24, 2016, with the consent of Petronas Carigali — and that the third party had assumed all rights, interests and responsibilities under the contract.
Nevertheless, it will take appropriate measures to mitigate the matter, including appealing to Petronas, but added it does not anticipate participating in Petronas’ upstream tenders this year.
Petronas Carigali first awarded the PH II Kinabalu contract to TFSB on Jan 28, 2014. When it received the two-year exclusion from Petronas Carigali, THHE argued at that time, saying the project had achieved an onshore construction completion of approximately 91%, but to no avail.