Sime Darby Plantation Bhd expects the second half of 2023 to remain challenging as the price volatility in crude palm oil (CPO) prices continue in the near-term due to prevailing uncertainties. Challenges notwithstanding, group managing director Datuk Mohamed Helmy Othman Basha said the aggressive ongoing rehabilitation of Malaysia's upstream operations is starting to show results with improvement in FFB production in 2Q. (TheStar)

Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O), which returned to the black in the first quarter of its 2024 financial year, is anticipating an ongoing recovery in the property market as well as hotel bookings in the quarter ahead. In the quarter under review, the lifestyle property developer said net profit was RM32.95mil, up from a net loss of RM1.65mil in the same quarter in 2022. (TheStar)

Minox International Group Bhd is heading for Bursa Malaysia's ACE Market, offering a public issue of 90 million new shares, or 25 per cent of its enlarged share capital of 360 million units. It is also making an offer for sale of 18.0 million existing shares, or 5.0 per cent of the enlarged share capital, through a private placement to selected investors. (NST)

Wellspire Holdings Bhd via its unit Wellspire Global Trading has entered into an agreement with Khee San Bhd's Khee San Food Industries Sdn Bhd to become the latter's sole and exclusive distributor in Thailand. In a joint statement, the parties said as a start, Wellspire will distribute Khee San products, namely Fruit Plus and Kiss Me. (TheStar)

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) aims to expand its portfolio in renewable energy (RE) in existing international markets, such as the UK, as well as throughout Asia-Pacific and Europe. TNB chief new energy officer Mohd Zarihi Mohd Hashim said the expansion of the portfolio will be implemented through the establishment and increased expertise in asset development, covering solar and wind energy, whether on land or at sea, supported by utility storage (battery storage). (TheEdge)

AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) is expected to post stronger earnings in its second quarter (2Q) after a slow start to its financial year ending March 31, 2024 (FY24). This is premised on an increase in net interest income on the back of continuous loan expansion and stable net interest margins, as well as a potential sequential decline in loan loss provisioning (LLP), according to CGS-CIMB Research. (TheStar)

Pekat Group Bhd posted a higher net profit of RM3.47 million for the second quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023 (FY23) from RM1.07 million a year ago. Group revenue grew 40.83 per cent to RM59.45 million from RM42.21 million previously. In Bursa Malaysia filing, Pekat attributed this to higher revenue registered in the solar division primarily from its large-scale solar project in Batang Padang, Perak. (NST)

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd’s net profit fell 52% to RM123.28 million for the fourth financial quarter ended June 30, 2023 (4QFY2023), from RM255.39 million a year ago, with decreased revenue further impacted by higher income taxes. In a filing on Wednesday (Aug 23), Hibiscus said its quarterly revenue decreased 42% to RM503.6 million, from RM868.37 million a year earlier. (TheEdge)

Kawan Food Bhd is poised to post better results in the second half of 2023 (2H23) on the back of strong demand for frozen food. PublicInvest Research noted demand would increase as consumers will likely opt to eat at home given the rising cost of living. (NST)

ELK-Desa Resources Bhd, a non-bank lender focused on the used-car segment, posted a lower net profit of RM8.50 million for the first quarter (Q1) ended June 30, 2023 (FY23) from RM17.59 million same quarter last year. This decline was mainly due to the absence of reversal of impairment allowances for the hire purchase segment recorded in Q1 FY22. (NST)

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is expected to have a record earnings year in FY2023,  driven by ongoing traffic recovery and improving international traffic mix, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research. "We are projecting earnings of RM524 million in FY23 and RM749 million in FY24, which will be a new record year, higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 level. Management expects the strong recovery in revenue will be partially offset by the expected higher cost structure in FY24," the research unit said in its note today. (NST)

UOA Development Bhd (UOADev)’s earnings rose 41% to RM63.87 million or 2.65 sen per share in the second quarter ended June 30, 2023, from RM45.3 million or 1.95 sen per share a year ago due to higher other income, including investment income. In a filing to Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday (Aug 23), the property development group said revenue decreased by 19% to RM98.1 million, from RM121.11 million. (TheEdge)

NCT Alliance Bhd (NCT) posted a net profit of RM9.3 million in its second quarter ended June 30, 2023, on the back of a 20% increase in revenue to RM58.4 million. In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 23), the developer said the lower profitability was primarily due to higher staff costs and bank facility charges, as well as marketing promotional costs for the quarter. (TheEdge)

IOI Corp Bhd’s results for the financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023), which saw a 35% fall in net profit and 25.64% drop in revenue year-on-year (y-o-y), came in broadly within expectations, said two research houses. RHB Research and Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research, in their respective results review notes on Wednesday (Aug 23), maintained their “buy” calls on the palm oil player’s stock despite the weaker performance. (TheEdge)

Teo Seng Capital Bhd saw a more than six-fold rise in net profit to RM25.4 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023), from RM3.93 million a year ago, boosted by improved egg prices and higher sales quantity. The quarterly net profit exceeded even the full-year net profit of RM21.64 million in FY2022. (TheEdge)

Awanbiru Technology Bhd's (Awantec) has submitted its written representations to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on why it should remain as a listed entity yesterday. On August 16, 2023, Bursa Securities denied Awantec a third extension of time to submit its regularisation plan as a Listed Affected Issuer, asking the company instead to show cause as to why its shares should not be suspended and subsequently delisted. (NST)

MBSB Bank Bhd is suing Country Heights Holdings Bhd, following its default on the payment of Islamic term financing facilities totalling RM89.67 million, to recover the sum owed. In a bourse filing on Tuesday (Aug 22), Country Heights said the group had on Monday (Aug 21) received a writ of summons, statement of claim and notice of case management from the solicitors acting for MBSB. (TheEdge)

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) has cast a positive outlook on Solarvest Holdings Bhd, expecting it to perform stronger in the coming quarters. This is after Solarvest registered earnings of RM6.7 million for the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024 (FY24)  which is above HLIB's expectations by 26 per cent. (NST)

Source: New Straits Times, The Edge Markets, The Star 23 August 2023

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