G Neptune Bhd (+ve)

G NEPTUNE (GNB) (Fundamental: 2.15/3, Valuation: 0.3/3) has seen sharply higher volumes after the release of its 4Q2014 earnings results at end-February. Since then, its share price has surged 2.5 sen, or a whopping 62.5% to close at a high of 6.5 sen yesterday.

In 4Q2014, GNB returned to black with net profit of RM4.1 million on the back of increased revenue of RM2.7 million. Note though this included a RM938,897 gain from disposal of subsidiary. For the full-year, net profit totaled RM0.521 million, including net disposal gains of RM74,160. GNB’s core business of IT research and development has been in the red since 2012. It has proposed a private placement of up to 86.6 million shares, or 30% of paid up share capital to fund its planned diversification into the apparel business, to distribute mid to high-end men’s clothing line under the brand name Louis Gianni.

GNB intends to actively look for other new businesses.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 11, 2015.