PublicInvest Research Headlines - 17 August 2012

PublicInvest

Publish date: Fri, 17 Aug 2012, 09:54 AM

Economy

US: Jobless claims little changed as labor market stable. The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits was little changed last week, bringing the average over the past month to the lowest level since late Mar, a sign the labor market has stabilized after employment picked up in July. Jobless claims climbed by 2,000 to 366,000 in the week ended Aug. 11. (Bloomberg)

US: Building permits increase to four-year high. American builders took out more residential construction permits in July; a sign the market will continue to improve. Applications, a proxy for future work, rose to an 812,000 annual rate. Housing starts fell 1.1% to a 746,000 rate from June’s 754,000, which was the strongest pace in more than three years. Less costly properties combined with record-low mortgage rates are reviving demand. (Bloomberg)

EU: Merkel says Germany backs Draghi on conditions for ECB help. Chancellor Angela Merkel backed the European Central Bank’s insistence on conditions for helping reduce borrowing costs in indebted countries, saying Germany is “in line” with the ECB’s approach to defending the euro. Merkel, facing European pressure to ease bailout terms and allow shared debt as well as calls by global partners to stop contagion hailed Canada’s budget and debt discipline as a model for the 17-nation euro area. (Bloomberg)

UK: Retail sales unexpectedly rise on fuel discounting in July as promotions helped to boost gasoline sales and food sales increased. Sales including auto fuel gained 0.3% from June. Sales in June were revised to a 0.8% gain from 0.1%, which means second-quarter sales fell 0.3%, less than initially estimated. Jobless claims dropped in July and the BOE says cooling inflation may help to bolster demand. (Bloomberg)

China: FDI down 3.6% in first 7 months. China's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows fell 3.6% in the first seven months of the year versus 2011, extending the longest run of falls since the global financial crisis in the latest sign of slowdown in the economy. The Commerce Ministry said China drew USD66.7bn in FDI between Jan and July. July's inflow alone was USD7.6bn, down 8.7% y-o-y. Investment flows into China's lynchpin real estate sector which directly affects around 40 different business sectors in the world's second largest economy fell 9.3% for the first seven months of 2012 versus 2011, but ministry spokesman Shen Danyang sought to downplay the significance. (Reuters)

Indonesia: Yudhoyono plans Indonesian spending boost in 2013 to spur growth. Indonesia plans to increase government capital spending by 15% next year as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledges to boost infrastructure to ensure sustainable growth. Capital spending will rise to IDR193.8tr (USD20bn) in 2013. “We’ll raise capital spending to boost infrastructure in order to support domestic connectivity, energy and food and to support the economy,” the president said, pledging to maintain the fiscal deficit at a “safe level” and reduce debt. (Bloomberg)

Markets

Maybank: H1 earnings surge to record high. Maybank posted RM1.4bn net profit for the 2Q12 ended June 30 2012 compared with RM1.2bn y-o-y. For the 1HFY12 its net profit was up 21.2% to RM2.8bn, while revenue improved by 24.7% to RM13.5bn driven by its lending and wealth management business. Growth was strong across almost all business sectors supported by a more than 100% growth in revenue for investment banking, and income growth of over 50% for Islamic banking. Maybank also declared an interim dividend of 32 sen per share less tax. (Business Times)

YTL Corp: Q4 net profit up slightly to RM281.7m. YTL Corp net profit for the 4Q12 ended June 30 2012 rose marginally to RM281.7m from RM279.4m y-o-y. Revenue in the final quarter increased 2.3% to RM5.3bn from RM5.2bn previously. For FY12, group net profit was up 9.8% to RM1.1bn from RM1.0bn a year ago. YTL group MD Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh attributed the growth to its multi-utilities and cement operations as well as its property development. (Business Times)

Bumi Armada: Q2 net profit increases 52%. Bumi Armada net profit for the 2Q12 ended June 30, rose 52% from a year earlier to

RM91.9m. Revenue however, fell slightly to RM34.6m from RM393.0m y-o-y. The company's executive director and CEO Hassan Assad Basma said the encouraging results were posted amid a challenging year, as there were not many jobs available. On the

order book, it stood firmly at RM7.6bn, which would last until 2020. (Business Times)

Star Publication: 2Q net profit falls 19.9%. Star Publication (M) net profit for the 2Q12 ended June 30, 2012 fell 19.9% to RM44.2m from RM55.3m y-o-y, due mainly to lower advertising revenue. Its revenue for the quarter rose 1.8% to RM299.5m from RM294.3m. Star declared an interim dividend of 6 sen per share, single tier and a special tax exemp dividend of 3 sen per share to be paid on Oct 18. (The Edge)

Petronas Dagangan: Profit down in Q2. Petronas Dagangans (PDB) second quarter net profit for FY12 ending Dec 31 fell to RM171.3bn from RM208.7bn in the same quarter a year ago despite a 9.2% rise in revenue to RM7.5bn. The reduced profits were due to “corrections in global oil prices”. The board has declared an interim dividend of 17.5 sen per share less tax at 25% amounting to RM130mil, payable on Sept 27. (StarBiz)

Perdana Petroleum: Mulls over buying more vessels. Perdana Petroleum is looking into the possibility of buying more vessels as it expects the market to slowly move into the right direction, said its MD, Shamsul Saad. He added that Perdana is working closely with Dayang Enterprise for the long-term business model. Meanwhile, Perdana received 99.9% shareholder approval yesterday, for its proposed divestment of its 57.7m shares of a 26.9% stake in Petra Energy, amounting to RM96.9m or RM1.68 per share. The block is being sold to Wah Seong Corp. (StarBiz)

Brahim’s: Eyes 30% sugar market in east M’sia. Brahim’s Holdings is hoping to capture at least 30% of the sugar market in east Malaysia when its refiner in Sarawak begins production in 2014. The refinery is meant to cater to sugar needs in Sabah and Sarawak where current annual demand is 350,000 tonnes. At full capacity, the refinery will eventually have annual output of 400,000 tonnes. (Financial Daily)

Source: PublicInvest Research - 17 August 2012