MQ Market Updates - 17 February 2023

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Publish date: Fri, 17 Feb 2023, 05:21 PM

ELK-Desa Resources Bhd's net profit marginally rose 5.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to RM11.12 million in its third quarter (Q3) ended December 31, 2022 (FY23) from RM10.52 million. Revenue for the quarter climbed 4.6 per cent YoY to RM39.95 million from RM38.2 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The increase in both revenue and profit was due to higher contributions from its hire purchase segment. For its nine-month period, the company's net profit surged 98.9 per cent to RM40.24 million from RM20.24 million in 9M FY21. (NST)

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd expects to perform satisfactorily in 2023 as the labour supply issue in Malaysia eases with the arrival of more foreign workers. The group had experienced challenges in fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production in Malaysia, the impact of which was partially compensated by better production in its operations in Indonesia as well as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. (TheStar)

Sunview Group Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary Fabulous Sunview Sdn Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding with Huawei Technology (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to collaborated on renewable energy (RE) projects. In a statement, the RE company said the proposed partnership would include the introduction of EV charging, microgrid, telecommunications site modernisation and energy storage solutions on a non-exclusive basis. (TheStar)

ACE Market-listed education and human resources provider SMRT Holdings Bhd’s share price shot up by as much as 32% in early morning trading on Friday (Feb 17), settling at 31 sen at 10.20am. The counter was the most actively traded, with 45.09 million shares changing hands. (TheEdge)

Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) fell by as much as 8.77% in Friday (Feb 17) morning trade on Bursa Malaysia, after reporting that its net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (2QFY2023) plummeted by 78.5%. At 10.20am, the stock shed RM2.96 to settle at RM30.78 a share, giving it a market capitalisation of RM6.46 billion. (TheEdge)

Pan Malaysia Holdings Bhd (PMH) and its 68.32% shareholder Malayan United Industries Bhd (MUI) are fighting back against a new lawsuit alleging that the sale of three firms — PM Securities Sdn Bhd, PCB Asset Management Sdn Bhd and Miranex Sdn Bhd — to NewParadigm Capital Ventures Sdn Bhd for RM90 million cash are in breach of Section 223 of the Companies Act 2016. (TheEdge)

Like its peers, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd turned to a loss of RM2.49 million or 0.1 sen per share in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4QFY2022). The rubber glove maker warns of “severely challenging” times ahead in its result announcement, pointing out that the headwinds, including higher energy and labour costs, will continue through the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023). (TheEdge)

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd is poised to record a stronger outlook for the second half (2H) of 2023 on the back of a higher off-take sales target and improved Anasuria operations. Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) said upsides to its earnings estimates were expected should it realise higher oil prices and accelerate its development plans. "Hibiscus has set a minimum dividend per share (DPS) of 2.5 sen in the financial year 2023 (FY23), a positive. Moreover, we reckon there's a further upside, considering its cash flow strength," the bank-backed research firm said in a note. (NST)

Gas Malaysia Bhd is looking forward to another satisfactory year in 2023 amid expectations of domestic economic growth. "The group will continue to take prudent measures to maintain its operational efficiency to remain competitive and seek opportunities to grow its business," it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. (TheStar)

Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) is optimistic about achieving a robust performance in 2023, underpinned by stable earnings contracts. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the gas infrastructure and utilities group said the volatility of foreign exchange and gas price movements may however have an impact on the group’s results. (TheStar)

Industrial manufacturer Luxchem Corp Bhd is maintaining a cautious outlook as it moves further into 2023. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, it cited several key challenges such as exchange rates of the ringgit against the dollar in a rising interest rate environment, raw material price fluctuations, raw material demand and supply situations. (TheStar)

Analysts raised their target prices (TPs) for Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd, after the Sarawak-based oil and gas service provider’s latest full-year results came in within expectations, and as they anticipate a positive year ahead. In a note on Friday (Feb 17), RHB Research analyst Sean Lim said the group’s core earnings surged 1.6 times to RM115 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022) on stronger work orders and better marine vessel utilisation. (TheEdge)

Source: New Straits Times, The Edge Markets, The Star 17 Feb 2023