KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Reinsurance and takaful operator MNRB Holdings Bhd slips into the red in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (3QFY15) after posting a net loss of RM20.09 million or a loss per share of 9.4 sen, compared with a net profit of RM13.98 million or earnings per share of 6.6 sen a year ago.
 
MNRB - in which Permodalan Nasional Bhd, via Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera, has a 46.37% stake - blamed the weaker performance to a few large claims from its reinsurance and retakaful subsidiaries, which included claims related to the recent floods in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.
 
"The group recorded a net loss mainly due to the provision for Peninsular Malaysia flood losses recognised during the current quarter, which affected the results of the company's reinsurance and retakaful subsidiaries," MNRB said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia this evening.
 
Revenue in 3QFY15 marginally dipped 1% to RM550.97 million from RM556.57 million a year ago.
 
For the cumulative nine months ended Dec 31, 2014 (9MFY15), MNRB saw its new profit slump 37.6% to RM50.67 million or 23.8 sen per share from RM81.26 million or 38.1 sen per share a year ago; revenue slipped 2% to RM1.76 billion from RM1.79 billion previously.
 
On a segmental basis, MNRB's investment holding and reinsurance businesses saw their profits fall 48.6% and 31% respectively.
 
On the other hand, the profit for its takaful business marched 7.6%, while the loss in retakaful business narrowed by 46%.
 
Going forward, MNRB (fundamental: 0.7; valuation: 3) warned that it may record a lower profit for its full FY15.
 
"The group's profit for the financial year ending March 31, 2015 (FY15) is not expected to outperform the previous financial year's results," MRNB said.
 
Its stock rebounded 8% from RM3.61 on Dec 16 last year to close unchanged at RM3.90 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM831 million.
 
(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.)