The Perak state government and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) are collaborating to investigate the potential of floating solar systems in the vicinity of the Sungai Perak hydroelectric project, reservoir, and dam. As part of a parallel project under NETR's centralised solar park project, TNB and Majuperak Holdings Bhd (MHB), a Perak government-affiliated firm, are working together on a 100 megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar project. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco), TNB will collaborate with Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak (PKNPk) in the first strategic alliance. The second partnership is between MHB and TNB Renewables Sdn Bhd (TRe), a wholly owned subsidiary of TNB. (NST)

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has set a goal to reduce the intensity of emissions in its entire palm oil portfolio by 16 per cent, from 1.81 in 2022 to 1.52 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or tCO2e/tCPO, by 2030. This reduction is equivalent to a two per cent annual average reduction. The decarbonisation target is based on the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and Forest, Land, and Agriculture (FLAG) guidance. These targets encompass Scope 1 and 2 emissions originating from plantation and milling clients, along with Scope 3 upstream emissions associated with clients' sourcing of fresh fruit bunches from suppliers. (NST)

Salcon Bhd has increased its involvement in the country's solar energy sector. Its subsidiary, Fortune Command Sdn Bhd (FCSB), held through its Renewable Energy (RE) arm, Inergist Sdn has signed a solar power purchase agreement (SPPA) with HeveaBoard Bhd. Under the SPPA, FCSB will be in charge of establishing a 25-year built-own-operate solar photovoltaic (PV) system with a total capacity of 862.5 kWp on the rooftops of HeveaBoard's particleboard production facilities in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. The solar PV system should be fully operational by the first half of 2024. Its goal is to generate around 26.25 million kWh of clean energy during its operational tenure, which is the same as planting over 27,000 trees or reducing average CO2 emissions by over 680 tonnes per year. (NST)

Building support services provider KJTS Group Bhd has received approval to list on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd. The company is set to offer around 218.03 million new ordinary shares, representing 31.69 per cent of its enlarged issued share capital of 688.00 million ordinary shares, in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). According to KJTS' draft prospectus for the IPO posted on Bursa Malaysia's website, the listing exercise involves the IPO of around 218.03 million new ordinary shares, or 31.69 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital, with no offer for sale. (NST)

Sunway Bhd's net profit rose 8.76 per cent to RM180.3 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3Q23) from RM165.78 million a year ago. Quarterly revenue grew 21.14 per cent to RM1.54 billion from RM1.27 billion previously, underpinned by higher contributions from its core business segments. As a result, the group registered a higher earnings per share of 2.61 sen from 2.39 sen in 3Q22. For the nine months ended on Sept 30 (9MFY23), Sunway's net profit increased by 1.74 per cent to RM471.87 million from RM463.78 million a year ago, while revenue rose to RM4.27 billion compared to RM3.66 billion previously. (NST)

Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd achieved RM310.8mil in new property sales in the second quarter of its 2024 financial year, with the lion's share of the sales stemming from Sendayan Developments. With the latest quarter, the property developer's new property sales in 1HFY24 rose to RM616.1mil. The group's unbilled sales stood at RM1.3bil as at end-September 2023, set to be recognised over the next 15 to 18 months. (TheStar)

After eight consecutive quarters of losses, MSM Malaysia Bhd continues to rein in the deficit and strive towards a return to profitability amid elevated production costs. In the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023, the sugar producer narrowed its net loss to RM36.06mil from a net loss of RM72.8mil in the same quarter a year earlier. The improvement in performance was owing to improved margin from industry and export segments, lower freight cost and capacity uitlisation, it said in statement. The bottomline result represented a basic loss per share of 5.13 sen against 10.36 sen in 3QFY22. (TheStar)

Avaland Bhd posted a jump in net profit to RM17.23mil in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023, from a net profit of RM6.17mil in the same quarter last year. The group's basic earnings per share rose to 1.18 sen from 0.42 sen. Revenue nearly tripled to RM156.18mil during the quarter from RM56.26mil previously. According to the property developer, the improved performance came on the back of the strong sales and healthy construction progress from the Group’s ongoing projects, namely Aetas Damansara, Alira Subang Jaya, Sanderling and Casa Embun. (TheStar)

Fiamma Holdings Bhd's net profit in the three months ended Sept 30, 2023 climbed by 35.55% to RM10.48 million from RM7.73 million, thanks to a RM9.16 million gain on sales of other investments which offset a negative change of fair value in other investments of RM5.30 million and higher operating expenses and finance costs. The electrical appliance and medical equipment distributor's earnings per share rose to 1.98 sen from 1.52 sen, a bourse filing on Thursday showed. Revenue for the three-month period rose by 13.91% to RM102.27 million compared to RM89.79 million in the corresponding period a year ago. (TheEdge)

Daythree Digital Bhd booked a net profit of RM959,000 in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023), down quarter-on-quarter from RM2.62 million due to listing expenses and higher headcount for new lines of business. Quarterly earnings per share came in at 0.2 sen, from 0.71 sen in 2QFY2023. It recorded non-recurring listing expenses of RM1.15 million in the quarter. The higher headcount is required for “initial set-up to manage two lines of business” for an existing client for the energy and utilities segment, it said. (TheEdge)

AirAsia X Bhd is set to fly to Almaty, Kazakhstan from Kuala Lumpur, making it the first Malaysian-based airline to venture into the Central Asian country. The budget carrier's chief executive officer (CEO) Benyamin Ismail told Business Times that the inaugural flight will commence on March 14 next year. "Kazakhstan is an entirely new market for AirAsia X and a strategic route to expand into. It is a strong testament to our vision and determination to explore new destinations while resuming services to our most popular destinations post pandemic," he said. (NST)

Southern Score Builders (SSB) Bhd is confident about the company's performance in the upcoming quarters as building activities for all its active projects pick up speed. Executive director and chief executive officer Gan Yee Hin said that over the near term, the company expects earnings to be driven by the robust execution and delivery of all ongoing construction projects. He said that SSB remains on course to deliver the cumulative profit guarantee of RM80 million from the fiscal years 2022 to 2024 (FY22-FY24). (NST)

Tune Protect Group Bhd is confident of delivering favourable investment returns with its investment strategy moving forward. The insurer, which has a portfolio valued at RM714.5mil as at end-September 2023, said nearly 80% of the portfolio was invested in money market funds and term deposits. "Our conservative asset allocation continues to shield us from recent market volatility. We will remain vigilant on developments in both global and local capital markets," said group CEO Rohit Nambiar in a statement. In the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023, Tune Protect continued its turnaround, posting a net profit of RM3.76mil as compared to a net loss of RM10.16mil in the same quarter in 2022, due to improvements in underwriting performance and investments. (TheStar)

Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3Q23) results were in line with expectations, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd's (HLIB Research). The investment bank said the earnings made up 75 to 76 per cent of its consensus full-year forecasts. Maybank registered 3Q23 earnings of RM2.4 billion, bringing the nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2023 (9M23) sum to RM7 billion. On outlook, HLIB Research said it expects Maybank's net interest margin (NIM) to improve in 4Q23 since local fixed deposit (FD) rivalry has stayed benign and expensive FD from the January to March 2023 cohort will be repriced downwards. (NST)

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd's (HLIB Research) reckons that Taliworks Corp Bhd could start experiencing stronger sequential progress with its Rasau projects. The investment bank also noted that the company's results align with its and consensus expectations, reaching 67 per cent of full-year forecasts.  Taliworks reported third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3Q23) results with revenue of RM90.7 million and core profit after taxation and minority interests (PATAMI) of RM13.5 million. This brings the company's nine-month period ended Sept 30, 2023 (9MFY23) core PATAMI to RM35.4 million, increasing by 3.7 per cent versus the same period last year. (NST)

AMMB Holdings Bhd was among the top gainers on Bursa Malaysia on Thursday morning, after analysts raised their target prices (TPs) on anticipation of improved net interest margin (NIM), recovery in loan growth and stable credit costs for the financial year ending March 31, 2024 (FY2024). Most analysts maintained their “buy” stance on the stock, after the group’s earnings for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (2QFY2024) met their expectations. Further, AMMB has an attractive valuation of seven times its estimated price-earnings for the calendar year 2024, one of the lowest in the banking sector, said CGS-CIMB Research. (TheEdge)

Analysts shrugged off Bermaz Auto Bhd's (BAuto) decision to return the distribution of Peugeot cars back to the marque's owner Stellantis NV, saying the impact would be "negligible" to the company's earnings. In a Thursday note, Kenanga Research highlighted that the European marque only contributed to less than 2% of BAuto's bottomline. "In FY2023, Bermaz Auto Alliance Sdn Bhd (BAA) sold 2,194 units of Peugeot vehicles and recorded a net profit of RM6.7 million or RM3.7 million based on BAuto’s 55% share of profit. It incurred RM2 million capex for a Peugeot 3S centre at Glenmarie," it said. (TheEdge)

Analysts remain optimistic on Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK), with Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) upgrading its call on the planter to “buy” from “hold”, with a target price (TP) of RM24.05, after KLK’s results met expectations. Notably, KLK posted a core net profit of RM385.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q2023), marking a substantial quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) increase of 114.8%, while the year-on-year (y-o-y) comparison reveals a decline of 27.3%. This brings FY2023’s full year core net profit to RM1.4 billion, indicating a significant decrease of 40.3% compared to the same period last year, according to the research house. (TheEdge)

TA Securities Holdings Bhd has downgraded its call for Inari Amertron Bhd to “hold”, from “buy” previously, given the narrowed risk-reward potential after the group’s reported earnings for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (1QFY2024) came in below the research house’s expectations. In a note on Thursday, TA Securities said Inari’s core net profit of RM85.8 million for 1QFY2024 (up 31.9% quarter-on-quarter, down 14.6% year-on-year) came in below the research house’s and consensus’ full-year estimates, at 21.8% and 21.5% respectively. “On our end, results missed (the estimates), as the radio frequency (RF) segment’s improved loadings fell short of expectations. It is worth noting that historically, Inari typically observes a seasonally stronger 1HFY (July to December), marked by the ramp-up of its RF segment, in conjunction with its major US end-customer’s yearly new smartphone line-up. (TheEdge)

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

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