MQ Market Updates - 12 September 2023

MQ Trader

Publish date: Tue, 12 Sep 2023, 05:41 PM

UMediC Group Bhd's (UMC) net profit for the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2023 (4Q23) leapt to RM3.37 million compared with just RM568,000 a year ago. The 491.4 per cent increase was mainly due to a higher demand for medical devices and consumables from both public and private hospitals as well as healthcare service providers. Group revenue for the quarter jumped to RM12.02 million from RM7.41 million a year ago. (NST)

Media Prima Bhd received an official visit from Singapore High Commissioner Vanu Gopala Menon at Sri Pentas, Bandar Utama here today. Menon's arrival, accompanied by First Secretary (Public Affairs) Syed Arafat Hussain, was welcomed by the top management of Media Prima, led by chairman Datuk Seri Dr Syed Hussian Aljunid and chief executive officer of Media Prima Audio, Nazri Noran. Also present were Media Prima Omnia chief operating officer Datuk Mohd Efendi Omar and NST group editor Farrah Naz Karim. (NST)

Bursa Malaysia ended its morning trading session in negative territory on cautious sentiment ahead of the US' Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week. As of 12:30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 2.59 points to 1,452.45 from yesterday's close of 1,455.04. The key benchmark hovered between the low of 1,448.34 and the high of 1,453.89 during the first leg of the trading session. (NST)

Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust is taking over Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka's (KYSM) campus from KYS College Sdn Bhd (KCSB) for RM150 million. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia Secruities today, Hektar REIT said it has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with KCSB for the proposed acquisition of a single, 1 ½, two and three-storey buildings which make up the administration, academic, residential and student facilities of KYSM. (NST)

Spritzer Bhd has bagged "Energy-Efficient Building" accolades on local and regional levels for its automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). On the national level, Spritzer competed with 114 other nominees in the sub category of zero-energy building at the National Energy Awards (NEA). Regionally at the 2023 Asean Energy Awards (AEA) hosted by the Asean Centre for Energy (ACE) in Bali, Indonesia, Spritzer represented the country showcasing its strength in warehouse system. (NST)

Bumi Armada Bhd said its 30%-owned subsidiary Bumi Armada 98/2 Pte Ltd (A98/2) has achieved financial close under its long-term project financing facility of US$948 million. In a filing, Bumi Armada said the funds have been utilised to fully repay the associate’s US$930 million bridge loan facility. A98/2, a venture with Shapoorji Pallonji group, owns the Armada Sterling V FPSO and is providing dry lease to sister company SP Bumi Armada Godavari Private Ltd (SPBAG). (TheEdge)

Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd, which engages in the business of healthcare, financial services, and glove manufacturing, has scrapped a plan to sub-lease a part of an industrial land in Prai Bulk Cargo Terminal, Penang from Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB). Measuring three acres, the sub-lease was supposed to be for a period of 20 years for a total rental payment of RM8.53 million. However, Hong Seng said it has reached an agreement to terminate the sub-lease of the land with PPSB, which was planned for an integrated logistics services project, as the group is in the midst of renegotiating with the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) on the alternative utilisation of the land and/or revision of the terms of the agreement. (TheEdge)

Farm Fresh Bhd's earnings bottomed in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023 (4QFY2023), but are expected to improve sequentially, after the company raised its selling prices in July, while costs have declined, according to CGS-CIMB. The research outfit revealed at a briefing during the CGS-CIMB consumer conference 2023 on Sept 6 that Farm Fresh group chief financial officer Mohd Khairul Mat Hassan said farmgate prices of raw milk in Australia slipped 4%, while whole milk prices fell 24% year-on-year, in August. (TheEdge)

CGS-CIMB has raised Sunway Bhd’s target price to RM2.57 while maintaining its add recommendation, after the diversified conglomerate announced that it was acquiring additional land including the remaining 40% of the total 1,079 acres in Pendas, Johor that it does not own from the Iskandar Investment Authority (IIA). In a note on Tuesday, the research house said that it was also raising its earnings per share by 1% to 3% to accommodate lumpy profit recognition of its Parc Canberra (gross development value (GDV) of S$530 million) and Parc Central (GDV of S$885 million) executive condominium projects in Singapore, after it had received more clarity on completion times. (TheEdge)

Source: New Straits Times, The Edge Markets 12 September 2023