KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus on Monday (Dec 4) may include the following: Nestle, Press Metal, DRB-Hicom, Hengyuan, IWCity, Carlsberg, BIMB, Tropicana, Iris, Vivocom and Lafarge.

Nestle (M) Bhd and Press Metal Bhd, both of which had seen their share prices hitting record highs recently, will be added to the FBM KLCI list of 30 component stocks, following a semi-annual review on Bursa Malaysia’s index series.

Meanwhile, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT) and IJM Corp Bhd will be dropped from the benchmark index effective Dec 18.  

DRB-Hicom Bhd returned to profitability after two quarters of losses, posting a net profit of RM736.57 million in the second financial quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (2QFY18), compared with a net loss of RM309.63 million a year ago.

Quarterly revenue grew 26.4% to RM3.34 billion, from RM2.64 billion in 2QFY17, with higher revenue contribution from the services, property, asset and construction sectors.

The diversified conglomerate recorded a net profit of RM566.86 million in the cumulative six months, against a net loss of RM478.94 million in 6MFY17. Revenue grew nearly 30% to RM6.68 billion from RM5.14 billion a year ago.

Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, whose share price has soared 418%,  turned around in its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17) with a net profit of RM361.78 million, as opposed to a net loss of RM80.86 million a year ago, as it enjoyed better refining margins, coupled with the gradual recovery of traded crude prices.

The stronger ringgit against the US dollar during the quarter under review also helped to boost its earnings. Revenue expanded 50% to RM2.96 billion from RM1.96 billion.

Its net profit in its first nine months of FY17 climbed 5.6 times y-o-y to RM725.67 million from RM127.46 million, while revenue grew 46% y-o-y to RM8.49 billion from RM5.83 billion.

Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWCity) recorded a second consecutive profitable quarter with a net profit of RM89.61 million booked in the three months ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17), compared to a net loss of RM3.59 million last year, thanks to gain from land sale in Johor.

Revenue jumped over 13 times year-on-year to RM220.2 million from RM16.55 million, as contribution from the property development sector surged with sale of its first tranche of land (Lot 1A) to Greenland Tebrau Sdn Bhd.

For the nine-month period (9MFY17), IWCity reported a net profit of RM33.3 million, against a net loss of RM12.2 million a year ago, while revenue grew more than five-fold year-on-year to RM246.35 million from RM45.96 million.

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd saw a slight decline of 2% year-on-year to RM42.85 million in net profit in its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17) from RM43.61 million last year, as earnings were dragged down by trade offer adjustments in Singapore.

Its quarterly revenue increased 8% to RM423.51 million from RM393.31 million, as sales at its Malaysian operations grew 18%, driven by stronger demand for the group's flagship brands, Carlsberg Green Label and Carlsberg Smooth Draught.

As for the cumulative nine months of FY17, Carlsberg posted an after-tax profit of RM171.16 million, 8% higher y-o-y from RM157.91 million in the same period a year ago, as revenue grew in tandem to RM1.34 billion from RM1.24 billion.

BIMB Holdings Bhd declared an interim single tier dividend of 14 sen per share after it announced net profit of RM183.43 million, up 30.5% from from RM140.61 million. The improved earnings were due to net write-back of allowances for impairment against a net allowance charged for impairment in the corresponding quarter in FY16.

Profit before zakat and tax (PBZT) grew 19.3% year-on-year to RM270.8 million from 3QFY16's RM226.9 million. Quarterly revenue amounted to RM912.74 million, rising 4.4% y-o-y from RM874.54 million.

For the cumulative nine months of FY17, BIMB's net profit grew 12.1% y-o-y to RM470.2 million from RM419.57 million, while revenue strengthened to RM2.78 billion from RM2.65 billion in 9MFY16.

Property developer Tropicana Corp Bhd's net profit rose 2% to RM35.49 million or 2.43 sen a share in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17) from RM34.8 million or 2.44 sen a share a year ago, mainly due to cost savings and higher progress billings from its ongoing projects in the Klang Valley and northern region.

Its quarterly revenue ballooned 29.8% to RM463.47 million in 3QFY17 from RM357.08 million in 3QFY16.

Tropicana declared a first interim dividend of two sen per share for FY17.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY17), the group's net profit expanded 45% to RM120.86 million from RM83.28 million a year ago, while revenue grew 28.7% to RM1.29 billion from RM1 billion in 9MFY16.

Iris Corp Bhd’s net loss in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (2QFY18) contracted by 31% to RM14.68 million from RM21.29 million a year ago, as the group recorded a share of profits of associates, compared with a share of losses in 2QFY17.

It recorded a share of profits totalling RM819,000, compared to a share of losses of RM6.79 million in 2QFY17.

Quarterly revenue was 27.7% stronger at RM112.27 million for 2QFY18, compared with RM87.93 million a year earlier.

For 1HFY18, Iris recorded a net loss of RM9.47 million versus a net loss of RM25.24 million in the same period of FY17, while revenue inched 28.2% higher to RM214.98 million, from RM167.68 million in 1HFY17.

Vivocom International Holdings Bhd's net profit about halved year-on-year to RM6.27 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17) from RM12.15 million, as higher cost offset revenue gains.

Its revenue grew RM5.54 million or 10% y-o-y to RM61.45 million from RM55.91 million.

The group's net profit for the first nine months of 2017, weakened 68% y-o-y to RM17.23 million from RM53.04 million, as revenue contracted 53% y-o-y to RM148.42 million from RM319.02 million.

Lafarge Malaysia Bhd — which posted its third straight quarter in the red — blamed weak demand and stiff competition as it recorded a net loss of RM42.01 million compared to a net profit of RM3.73 million in the three months ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17).

Quarterly revenue dipped a marginal 1% to RM578.85 million, from RM587.25 million a year ago, as it saw lower cement sales, following softer demand amid increased industry capacity and continued pricing pressures.

For the first nine-months of FY17, Lafarge saw a net loss of RM135.04 million, compared to a net profit of RM42.74 million a year ago, while revenue declined 13% to RM1.67 billion from RM1.92 billion.