This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on December 28, 2015 - January 4, 2016.  

BETWEEN Dec 11 and 17, a total of 523.37 million shares worth RM700.53 million were traded off market in blocks of at least 450,000.

Al-’Aqar Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), for example, saw 46 million shares, equivalent to 6%, change hands in direct and block trades during the week in review. The REIT invests in shariah acceptable hospitals, which belong mainly to KPJ Healthcare. The parties involved in the transaction were unknown at the time of writing.

The REIT’s net profit in its third quarter ended Sept 30 grew 2.2% to RM15.1 million from a year ago while revenue rose 1.3% to RM27.6 million. Al-’Aqar Healthcare REIT (fundamental: 0.75; valuation: 2) attributed the higher revenue and net profit to an increase in net rental income during the period.

On Dec 14, some 38.28 million shares or 18% equity interest in mTouche Technology Bhd crossed off market in a direct block at 13 sen each. The parties involved in the transaction were unknown at press time.

mTouche (fundamental: 0.95; valuation: 0), which provides mobile value-added services, recently saw a change in key management positions. Its CEO Mohamed Zakhir Mohamed resigned, citing health reasons, and Kenneth Kong Seh Kiang has been appointed the acting CEO until a replacement is found. Meanwhile, Kong Choon Keong has been appointed the chief financial officer.

In its third quarter ended Sept 30, the company’s net profit shrank to RM357,000 from RM1.12 million a year ago while revenue contracted to RM5.22 million from RM6.8 million.

Over at Willowglen MSC Bhd (fundamental: 2.55; valuation: 1.80), some 30.97 million shares, equivalent to 13%, were transacted in blocks during the week in review. The technology solutions provider recently announced that its subsidiary Willowglen Services Pte Ltd had been awarded a RM6.94 million contract by Incsys Pte Ltd for the design and construction of Jurong Island to Pioneer Transmission Cable Tunnel ELV subcontract. 

The contract commenced on Oct 21 and will be completed by Oct 30, 2017. The project will contribute to the group’s earnings in its financial years ending Dec 31, 2016 and 2017.

The company’s net profit in its third quarter ended Sept 30 declined to RM3.52 million from RM3.84 million previously. This came despite an increase in revenue to RM24.41 million from RM23.93 million a year ago.

CWorks Systems Bhd (fundamental: 2.25; valuation: 0) saw 20 million shares, equivalent to 17%, change hands in a direct block during the week in review. Based on a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Law Li Li emerged as a substantial shareholder after purchasing 20 million shares on Dec 11.

Earlier in December, the company had seen the emergence of another new shareholder — Raja Abdullah Raja Baharudin — who acquired five million shares off market and increased his stake to 5.07% in the company.

CWorks suffered a net loss of RM300,000 in the third quarter ended Sept 30 on revenue of RM853,000.

Meanwhile, Oriented Media Group Bhd (fundamental: 2.25; valuation: 0) saw 28.94 million shares, equivalent to 5%, traded in block and direct trades during the week. The parties involved in the transaction were unknown at press time.

The company has proposed a four-for-two rights issue, which is sweetened by free warrants on a ratio of three warrants for two existing shares. The rights shares commence trading on Dec 28.

In November, Oriented Media Group was slapped with an unusual market activity query by Bursa after its stock price surged from 19 sen on Oct 15 to 54.5 sen on Nov 19. But the company replied that it was not aware of any development that could have caused the sudden increase.

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. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

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