KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 22): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, the companies that may be in focus tomorrow (Friday, Jan 23) could include the following: Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Mulpha Land Bhd, TMC Life Sciences Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd (HLI), Hume Industries Bhd, Kimlun Corp Bhd and Guocoland (M) Bhd.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) posted a 34.4% rise in net profit to RM2.35 billion for its first financial quarter ended Nov 30, 2014 (1QFY15); while revenue also rose by 15.2% to RM11.03 billion, on improved electricity sales following a tariff hike last year.

“The group recorded a 18.5% or RM1.68 billion improvement in sales of electricity, from RM9.08 billion to RM10.76 billion. The improvement was mainly from sales of electricity in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, which each recorded an increase of 19.2% and 20.7%,” said Tenaga (fundamental: 1.3; valuation: 1) in its financial results announcement to Bursa Malaysia today.

Tenaga said it is cautious on the group’s prospect for FY15, in light of prevailing global economic conditions and volatility of foreign exchange impacting the Malaysian economy.

Mulpha Land Bhd is selling 4.15ha of vacant freehold land in Pekan, Kedah, to PR1MA Corp Malaysia for RM6.5 million, with most of the sale proceeds to be used for its working capital.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Mulpha Land (fundamental: 1.6; valuation: 2.4) said its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Golden Cignet Sdn Bhd, had signed a master en-bloc purchase agreement with PR1MA for the sale.

The sale transaction is expected to be completed within two months from signing the agreement.

TMC Life Sciences Bhd saw its second financial quarter ended Nov 30, 2014 (2QFY15) net profit fallen 3.9% to RM2.3 million or 0.28 sen a share, despite revenue gone up 13% to RM25.1 million.

In a note to Bursa Malaysia today, the company attributed the marginally lower earnings in 2QFY15 to increased operating expenditure, especially on staff cost.

Nevertheless, TMC Life (fundamental: 2.2; valuation: 0.3) saw its first half net profit (1HFY15) jumped 49.3% to RM3.03 million, from RM2.03 million in 1HFY14; while revenue rose 17.7% to RM48.27 million.

Moving forward, the company noted rising costs will remain a concern to private hospital operators. With a weaker ringgit, the cost of importing medical supplies and drugs will become higher.

Hong Leong Industries Bhd’s (HLI) net profit for its second financial quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, dipped 15.41% to RM35.62 million or 11.55 sen a share, despite revenue having come in 7.25% higher at RM535.56 million.

For its six months ended Dec 31 last year, the group raked in a net profit of RM83.79 million — an increase of 7.17% from RM78.18 million a year earlier; while revenue rose 4.35% to RM1.06 billion.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, HLI (fundamental: 1.7; valuation: 2.4) said it recorded better margins in the first half, due to the higher average selling price in its industrial products segment and lower production costs in the consumer products segment. Meanwhile, there was higher profit contribution from an associated company.

Moving forward, HLI’s board expects the group’s performance for both the consumer products segment and industrial products segment to be satisfactory for the financial year ending June 30 this year.

Hume Industries Bhd (formerly known as Narra Industries Bhd) reported a net profit of RM12.19 million or 3.15 sen a share in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (2QFY15), compared to a net loss of RM1.94 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, 2QFY15 revenue soared 1,117.41% to RM116.75 million, compared to RM9.59 million a year earlier.

Hume (fundamental score: 1.55; valuation score: 0.3) said the higher revenue and profit were mainly attributable to its newly-acquired construction materials business via Hume Concrete Sdn Bhd and Hume Cement Sdn Bhd, during the quarter under review.

On its prospect, Hume’s board of directors said they expected the group to “perform satisfactorily” in FY15.

Kimlun Corporation Bhd has secured a housing development contract worth RM230.7 million from Nusajaya Heights Sdn Bhd — a subsidiary of UEM Sunrise Bhd.

In a filing with the local bourse, Kimlun (fundamental 1.3; valuation: 2.4) said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kimlun Sdn Bhd, has accepted the letter of award for the construction of affordable apartments in Johor Bahru, Johor, from Nusajaya Heights.

It added construction works is expected to be completed by August 2017, and is expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets of Kimlun group, for the financial years during the contract period.

Guocoland (M) Bhd saw its net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (2QFY15) fallen 75.4% to RM3.02 million or 0.45 sen a share; while revenue fell to RM55.3 million, from RM59.1 million previously.

In its filing to Bursa Malaysia, the property developer said there was lower contribution from its commercial projects in Petaling Jaya City and Old Klang Road, as well as the residential project in Kajang. Aside of this, lower contribution from associates and joint ventures had also resulted in lower earnings, it added.

Moving forward, Guocoland said the property market outlook and sentiment continue to be cautious, amid banks' credit tightening measures and volatile economic environment.

"Hence, the performance of the group is expected to be challenging for the current financial year," it added.

(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. Go to www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company's financial dashboard.)