MQ Market Updates - 27 February 2024

MQ Trader

Publish date: Tue, 27 Feb 2024, 05:25 PM

Sapura Energy Bhd has teamed up with AF Offshore Decom, a Norwegian company specialising in customised decommissioning solutions in the North Sea, to simplify its decommissioning process. In a statement on Tuesday, Sapura Energy said its Kitar Solutions simplifies the decommissioning process through integrated Engineering, Preparations, Removal, and Disposal (EPRD) services. (TheEdge)

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has gotten the approval from the Cabinet to expand Penang International Airport which is expected to begin by the second or third quarter this year. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said some of the expenses of the estimated over RM1 billion project would be borne by the national airport operator while the rest would likely be funded using the Airport Development Fund (ADF). (NST)

MISC Bhd recorded a weaker performance in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4QFY23) on the back of lower operating profit in the offshore business segment due to lower construction progress and additional cost provisions. Meanwhile, the group also reported higher vessel operating costs, which took a bite out of the gas assets and solutions segment's operating profit. (TheStar)

Shares in utilities-to-resorts conglomerate YTL Corp Bhd climbed to another record high on Tuesday driven by investors’ ongoing interest in the stock, amid its latest stellar earnings. YTL Corp share price climbed 15 sen or 6% to RM2.65 as of 11.43am, valuing the company at RM29.32 billion. It was the fifth most active stock in terms of volume on Bursa Malaysia, with about 37.84 million shares traded. In contrast, the benchmark of FBM KLCI rose 0.25%. (TheEdge)

The trading stock of Cape EMS Bhd plunged to historically low trading levels on Tuesday after it posted sharply lower earnings for the fourth quarter of its 2023 financial year (4QFY23). The electronic manufacturing services (EMS) provider, which made its debut on the Main Market less than a year ago, opened 13 sen or 11.5% lower at RM1 before descending to an all-time trading low of 92 sen a share. (TheStar)

United Plantations Bhd's share price was one of the top gainers in the stock market, moving up as much as 44 sen, after its declared final and special dividends of RM1.10 for financial year 2023. United Plantations' share price was trading 34 sen higher at RM21.26 a share as at 10.35am, giving it a market capitalisation of RM8.8 billion. (NST)

CelcomDigi Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest wireless carrier, and U Mobile Sdn Bhd said on Tuesday they had signed an agreement to share a total of 100 multi-operator core network sites across Malaysia. Each company has committed to 50 sites, according to a joint statement. The partnership would allow both parties to further expand their 4G long-term evolution (LTE) coverage and boost connectivity without incurring significant operational costs, the statement added. (TheEdge)

Highway concessionaire WCE Holdings Bhd's net loss has widened by more than threefold to RM22.39 million in its third financial quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (3QFY2024), from RM6.77 million a year earlier, mainly due to an increase in interest expense incurred in relation to project financing for completed sections of the West Coast Expressway (WCE) project. The interest cost was recorded at RM38.8 million compared with RM34.7 million previously, according to the group's exchange filing on Monday. (TheEdge)

Conglomerate Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) has flagged the strengthening of the US dollar against the ringgit as a key concern for financial year 2024 (FY24), after it posted an almost 60 per cent drop in net profit in FY23. CMS' net profit reduced to RM115.13 million from RM287.13 million, in the absence of a one-off gain of RM197.78 million in FY2022 and also due to a 55 per cent drop in profit contributions from associates compared with RM139.11 million in financial year 2022. (NST)

Unisem (M) Bhd has guided for demand for its products and services in the first quarter of 2024 to be soft, although things are expected pick up over the remainder of the financial year. The semiconductor assembly and test services firm's outlook comes after posting a net profit of RM28.44mil in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was a slide from RM67.08mil in the same quarter in 2022. (TheStar)

Property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd said on Tuesday its net profit climbed 38% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from a year earlier, thanks largely to higher margin and lower net finance costs. Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2023 was RM64.74 million compared to RM46.78 million over the same period last year, Mah Sing said in an exchange filing. Revenue for the quarter rose marginally year-on-year to RM671.28 million from RM670.87 million. (TheEdge)

Source: New Straits Times, The Edge Markets The Star 27 February 2024