Sycal Ventures Bhd (-ve)

SHARES in Sycal Ventures Bhd (fundamental: 0.65/3, valuation: 1.1/3) triggered our momentum algorithm for the first time this year as its share price gained 1.47% to 34.5 sen on Tuesday, with 6.99 million shares traded, compared with its 200-day average volume of 1.24 million.

The group’s net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016 fell by 73.4% to RM938,000 from RM3.52 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Completion of some external constructions, such as the shopping mall project in Ipoh and handover of the group’s Bukit Cheras development last year, coupled with the effect of the goods and services tax and a slowdown in property sales in general, had affected Sycal’s performance.

Sycal’s core business is in civil and construction works, property development, and manufacturing and trading, including ready-mix concrete and building materials.

At the current level, it is trading at 0.45 times its book value with a market capitalisation of RM108.9 million.