MQ Market Updates - 30 May 2023

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Publish date: Tue, 30 May 2023, 05:22 PM

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has won its appeal to set aside a High Court order for it to pay RM4 million in damages to a steel manufacturing company for alleged negligence over disruption of electricity supply to its factory premises. A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal comprising Justices Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk M. Gunalan allowed TNB's appeal to set aside the High Court's decision after ruling that TNB could not be held liable for Southern Steel Berhad's (SSB) claim. (NST)

DC Healthcare Holdings Bhd has agreed to underwrite its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia with M&A Securities Sdn Bhd. The aesthetic medical services specialist said the listing exercise involves the public issue of 199.26 million shares, or 20 per cent of its enlarged number of issued shares, and an offer for sale of 99.63 million shares, or 10 per cent of the enlarged share capital, to selected investors. (NST)

RHB Bank Bhd, which chalked up a healthy year-on-year (y-o-y) performance in the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (1Q23), is likely to see its net interest margin (NIM) slippage moderate in the next two quarters. This is given that a large proportion of its fixed deposit (FD) would have been repriced, said Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research. (TheStar)

Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd's (ABMB) net profit rose 26.3 per cent to RM130.17 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023 (4Q23) from RM103.04 million a year ago. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, the bank said this was underpinned by higher net interest income and lower allowance for expected credit losses. (NST)

AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) has been on a steady and ongoing course of relaunching all its profitable routes to China and increasing frequencies on routes with high demands, effectively strengthening its position within the regions it operates in. The carrier currently operates nine aircraft and expects aircraft to be operational by the end of 2023 to support its expansion plans and maximise the group’s value. The carrier currently operates nine aircraft and expects aircraft to be operational by the end of 2023 to support its expansion plans and maximise the group’s value. (TheStar)

Sime Darby Property Bhd won 13 awards at the Malaysia Landscape Architecture Awards 2022 (MLAA13) held in Desaru, Johor last Saturday (May 27). One of those awards is the coveted Best Client award. (TheEdge)

FGV Holdings Bhd's net profit plunged 96.7 per cent to RM12.09 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (1Q23) from RM369.24 million a year ago, as it incurred lower average crude palm oil (CPO) price and losses in sugar sector. FGV said the lower profit was partially mitigated by the improvement in logistic sector. (NST)

IJM Corp Bhd's net profit for fiscal year 2023 (FY23) exceeded Maybank Investment Bank Bhd's (Maybank IB) projections by 112 per cent. The company's FY23 headline net profit comprised an unrealised foreign exchange loss, mostly related to US dollar borrowings for its Indian toll roads, as well as the impairment of West Coast Motorway Sdn Bhd (WCE) RUMS (a financial instrument). (NST)

Oppstar Bhd, an integrated circuit design service provider, posted a 22.4 per cent increase in net profit to RM20.4 millio for year ended March 31 2023 (FY23). Group revenue rose 14.5 per cent to RM57.9 million. (NST)

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) posted a lower net profit of RM40.32 million for the first quarter ended March 31 2023 (1Q23) from a net profit of RM52.28 million a year ago. Group revenue declined 25 per cent to RM390.23 million from RM521.56 million a year ago. (NST)

Shares in D&O Green Technologies Bhd fell more than 10% to its lowest level since May 2022, after its net profit tumbled 97.17% to RM863,000 for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 (1QFY2023), from RM30.45 million a year earlier. At 10.01am, D&O fell 10.03% or 39 sen to RM3.50, with 2.73 million shares done. The stock had earlier slipped to a low of RM3.49. (TheEdge)

Despite a 31.85% drop in its fourth quarter earnings, egg producer Lay Hong Bhd was back in the black for the financial year ended March 31, 2023 (FY2023).The group’s quarterly net profit shrank to RM12.90 million in 4QFY2023, from RM18.93 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher cost of sales. (TheEdge)

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd said it will manage its liquidity or funding cost and enhance its profitability as its primary focus for 2023. "In addition to ongoing efforts to increase CASA (current accounts and savings accounts) and operational accounts, other initiatives are also being looked upon to preserve its net income margin," it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. (TheStar)

Express delivery services provider GDEX Bhd foresees its newly launched RM25 million Auto Hub to triple its sorting capacity to 350,000 shipments daily over the next two years. Managing director and group chief executive officer Teong Teck Lean said the new 145,000 square feet (sq ft) fully automated sorting facility deploys intelligent sorting technology with a sorting accuracy of 99.99 per cent to shorten turnaround time and reduce the risk of parcel damage, elevating the group’s customer service quality. (TheStar)

IHH Healthcare Bhd is exploring more potential partnerships or mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to strengthen its business, especially in its three core markets of Malaysia, Türkiye and India, according to group chief operating officer Joe Sim Heng Joo. "We see that there are certain acquisitions where we can add value, a so-called parenting advantage, which adds value to the underlying business. We believe that in many cases, the core of our growth is through M&As, which allows us to improve our margins. (TheEdge)

Malakoff Corp Bhd may see its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials improving following its involvement into renewable energy (RE) projects moving forward. The company had earlier in the year entered into a heads of agreement to develop, own, operate, and maintain three hydroelectric renewable energy plants in Kelantan. (TheStar)

IOI Properties Group Bhd’s (IOIProp) property investment unit is expected to be the company’s key earnings driver over the medium term, say analysts. RHB Research said the property developer’s results for the third quarter of financial year 2023 (3Q23) came in within its expectations and beat the consensus estimates. (TheStar)

MBM Resources Bhd expects growth to continue to be supported by its 20%-owned Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd’s (Perodua) ability to hit a higher sales target amidst the easing of headwinds in manufacturing, says analysts. Kenanga Research remains optimistic Perodua will end 2023 with another sales record of 314,000 units (up by 11.3%). (TheStar)

DRB-Hicom Bhd expects to continue leveraging onto the strong automotive segment in financial year 2023 in line with its efforts to continue strengthening its automotive position in Malaysia. Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said as supply chain issue normalises, DRB-Hicom can leverage on its Proton, Honda, Isuzu and Mitsubishi brands to drive growth in 2023. (TheStar)

AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank Group is maintaining a bullish outlook on its prospects, despite potential external challenges such as the volatility in the global growth trajectory and heightening geopolitical tensions. The optimism, group chief executive Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said, is anchored on robust domestic demand, the resurgence of the local labour market, steady execution of multi-year investment projects and the increase in tourism activities in its fiscal year ended March 31 (FY23) which he said would continue to support the group in FY24. (TheStar)

Citaglobal Bhd, formerly known as WZ Satu Bhd, expects a return to growth in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023) and FY2024, lifted by its energy storage and portability solutions through its one-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS). The group posted a net loss of RM40.88 million on revenue of RM215.44 million in FY2022. (TheEdge)

CGS-CIMB Securities has upgraded Kotra Industries Bhd to “Hold” at RM5.60 with an unchanged target price (TP) of RM5.74, and said Kotra’s 9MFY6/23 core net profit was largely in line with house and consensus estimates. In a note on Monday (May 29), the research house said Kotra’s core net profit rose 4.1% year-on-year in 3QFY6/23 on export sales growth, which was partially offset by lower local sales. (TheEdge)

Inari Amertron Bhd’s radio frequency (RF) segment is guided to pick up from June 2023, driven by a new flagship programme. This is in line with the group’s expansion plans which is said to be on track. TA Research noted Inari’s primary customer recently secured a multibillion dollar deal with a significant US end-user for the development of 5G RF components, which gives the group’s RF segment confidence in its long-term viability. (TheStar)

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research has maintained its “Sell” rating on Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) at RM6.87, with a lower target price (TP) of RM5.83 (from RM6.54), and said PetChem registered a 1Q2023 core net profit of RM604 million (-29% quarter-on-quarter, -71% year-on-year), which came in below expectations at 12%/11% of house/consensus full-year forecast. (TheEdge)

Independent adviser TA Securities Holdings Bhd has advised the non-interesed directors and shareholders of MBf Corp Bhd to vote in favour of the proposed selective capital reduction (SCR) at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on June 28, as it said while the deal was unfair, it was nonetheless a reasonable one. (TheEdge)

MIDF Research is bullish about Padini Holdings Bhd's outlook, underpinned by its strong net cash position of RM627.5 million, which is equivalent to 25 per cent of market capitalisation, and protects against downside risk. The research firm said that the company's affordably priced product appeals to the B40 and M40 income groups, and effective cost management mitigates the impact of elevated input costs. (NST)

There could be a further narrrowing of losses for Mah Sing Group Bhd's manufacturing division as the average selling price (ASP) of gloves trends higher while raw material prices decline. In a results review, RHB Research said the ASP of gloves has improved to US$20-21 per 1,000 pieces. (TheStar)

Source: New Straits Times, The Edge Markets, The Star 30 May 2023