>>>>

Let's Review Again

Pm Corp is selling at a Huge Discount to NTA

Price 26.5 cents. Revised NTA is 97.4 cents. A Whopping 73% Discount to NTA Provides A Huge Margin of Safety

Forward P/E an undemanding 8.8%

Above All The Crowning Glory is the 30.18% Cash Pay Out.

Translated into 3 Years of 10.06% yield for year 2016, 2017 & 2018



PM CORP = POWER MONEY CORP!



Regards,

Calvin
>>>>


A gruesome company may remain gruesome for a very long time!

This thread was posted on 10.2.2016. Price of PMCorp on 12.2.2016 was 30 sent per share.

Price of PM Corp today is 19 sen per share.

Bursa is on SALE today.

Of the 499 companies latest quarterly results as of 31.3.2023 available in i3 investor forum:

QoQ
246 reported a lower quarterly EPS compared with previous quarter.
253 reported a higher quarterly EPS compared with previous quarter.


YoY
255 reported quarterly earnings lower than the previous year corresponding quarter
244 reported quarterly earnings higher than the previous year corresponding quarter

Too many smart brains are trying to make money from financial assets.
They are better employed in the real economy producing good and services, which create real wealth for the economy.

During the pandemic and the locked down period, the products of this company were in demand. People trapped in their houses were buying the products for home use and entertainment. Will need to watch the next 2 quarters to see if the business of this company is fine or facing challenges.

The decrease in general profitability measures such as gross profit margin of 8% and profit before tax margin of 4% for the current quarter ended 31 March 2023 as compared to previous year corresponding quarter (gross profit margin and net profit
margin of 14% and 11% respectively) is incurred primarily to rising production costs which attributable to significant overhead costs incurred, particularly in regards of manpower costs, in view of lower manufacturer utilisation and softer order book. The
current headcount for direct labour of the Group is in line with the initial order book and robust forecast from major customer.

For the current quarter ended 31 March 2023, the Group recorded a revenue of RM500 million, a decrease of 14% or RM80 million as compared to the previous year corresponding quarter. Profit before tax decreased by 68% or RM45 million to RM22
million over the same period.

The Group will continue its concerted effort which focuses on managing manpower, supply chain management and cost optimisation at existing manufacturing bases of the Group.


Commentary on prospects
In view of challenging macroeconomic outlook, the Group will remain vigilant with future order book received from customers and continues to apply its concerted effort which primarily focuses on manpower and supply chain management in addition to
other cost optimisation measures.

As of the date of this report, the Group is in the midst of obtaining certificate of completion and compliance in regards of the new factory building constructed on newly acquired land at Negeri Johor having land size of approximately 6.4 acres.

We will continue to expand our Printed Circuit Board Assembly ("PCBA"), injection moulding and engineering capabilities to take advantage of a widened product assortment.

Meanwhile, the Group is mindful of significant credit concentration risk that may arise from major customer and continuously seek to diversify its customer base. All in all, against the aforementioned headwinds, the Board is positive that the Group will
sustain its resilience by maintaining robust financial position at all time.

Are the large drops in the latest quarterly revenue and earning worrying?

Palm Oil (MYR/T) 3363.00

Palm Oil (MYR/T) 3363.00

Ringgit continues to depreciate vs US dollar
By Bernama - February 17, 2023 @ 11:14am
At 9 am, the ringgit fell to 4.4245/4290 versus the greenback from Thursday’s closing of 4.4020/4060.
At 9 am, the ringgit fell to 4.4245/4290 versus the greenback from Thursday’s closing of 4.4020/4060.
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit has continued to weaken against the US dollar this morning as buying interest for the greenback increased.

Analysts said the greenback had strengthened on the back of the improved United States (US) Producer Price Index (PPI) and renewed speculations that the US Federal Reserve will tighten interest rates growth faster than expected.

At 9 am, the ringgit fell to 4.4245/4290 versus the greenback from Thursday's closing of 4.4020/4060.

According to reports, the US PPI -- which measures what suppliers are charging businesses -- rose by six per cent year-on-year in January 2023.


SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said Thursday's PPI scorcher confirmed 'higher for longer' interest rates.


"Consequently, the 10-year US Treasury yields are climbing, putting further pressure on longer-duration assets. The constant back and forth between higher inflation and fears of more US Federal Reserve (Fed) hikes have US stocks wavering under recessionary storm clouds.


"While this environment is typically positive for the US dollar with yields elevated and stocks lower, the path forward also depends on how the Fed reacts to this recent data string.

"But if recession fears start to build in earnest, I suspect the US dollar's days in the sun could be numbered. In the meantime, it is tricky to fight this uptrend," said Innes to Bernama.

Back home, the Finance Ministry (MoF) said amid the speculation, the ringgit has reversed its downtrend and appreciated by 10 per cent from Nov 1, 2022-Feb 8, 2023 to hit RM4.2983 against the US dollar.

As global investor risk sentiment improved, the ringgit had also strengthened against the currencies of Malaysia's main trading partners, as reflected by the ringgit's nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) which increased by 3.2 per cent during the same period, the MoF said in a statement yesterday.

Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies, except versus the British pound where it improved to 5.2921/2975 from 5.3075/3123 at Thursday's close.

The local unit eased against the Japanese yen to 3.2962/2998 from 3.2883/2915 yesterday, fell vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3070/3109 from 3.2989/3024 and weakened versus the euro to 4.7165/7213 from 4.7101/7144 previously.

-- BERNAMA

WHY HAS THE RINGGIT WEAKENED AGAINST THE SINGDOLLAR?
Economists and foreign exchange experts said that the drop in the ringgit’s value against the Singapore dollar is due to two main reasons: The strengthening of the United States dollar and the weakness of China's economy.

Maybank’s chief forex strategist Saktiandi Supaat said that both the Singapore dollar and the Malaysian ringgit have weakened against the US dollar over the past week, but the Singapore dollar has been "more resilient".

Given that Singapore has an exchange rate policy rather than an interest rate policy, there is less pressure in terms of yield differentials on the Singapore dollar compared to the Malaysian ringgit.

This means that because Singapore focuses more on controlling the value of its currency through the exchange rate, and not so much through interest rates, there is less pressure or urgency for people to choose the Singapore dollar over the Malaysian ringgit if they want to make more money from their investments.

"We see that the Singapore dollar is more resilient in times of currency volatility," Mr Saktiandi said.

He added that the weakness in commodity prices, such as those of palm oil and crude oil, has also affected the sentiments for the ringgit.

OCBC bank’s head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling said that the "China factor" is another reason for the fall in the ringgit’s value against the Singapore dollar.

One major contributor is the depreciation of the Chinese yuan, alongside the dampening of optimism in China's reopening.

This is because Malaysia has a large trade exposure to China, so its currency relies heavily on China's economic recovery.

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/malaysian-ringgit-record-low-singdollar-exchange-rate-2180071#:~:text=WHY%20HAS%20THE%20RINGGIT%20WEAKENED,the%20weakness%20of%20China's%20economy.

Oil Prices Slip As Fears Of A U.S. Default Return
By Irina Slav - May 30, 2023, 2:55 AM CDT
Crude oil prices retreated in Asian trade on Tuesday, with WTI falling toward $72 and Brent trading below $76.50.
Reports have emerged that Republican hardliners in Congress might derail the debt ceiling deal that President Biden and Kevin McCarthy had agreed upon.
Uncertainty over a debt ceiling deal combined with mixed messages from OPEC+ has set oil markets on edge this week.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Slip-As-Fears-Of-A-US-Default-Return.html

This thread for general discussions on various topics.

Oil Prices Slip As Fears Of A U.S. Default Return
By Irina Slav - May 30, 2023, 2:55 AM CDT
Crude oil prices retreated in Asian trade on Tuesday, with WTI falling toward $72 and Brent trading below $76.50.
Reports have emerged that Republican hardliners in Congress might derail the debt ceiling deal that President Biden and Kevin McCarthy had agreed upon.
Uncertainty over a debt ceiling deal combined with mixed messages from OPEC+ has set oil markets on edge this week.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Slip-As-Fears-Of-A-US-Default-Return.html

What led to the large drop in KLCI yesterday, plunging the index to below 1,400?

Why is the ringgit so weak at this period?

On 29.12.2022 (the last post of that day), I did a simple calculation on the intrinsic value TSH, using certain conservative assumptions. Do have a look at that post.

The stock market in the long run behaves like a weighing machine.
The stock market in the short run behaves like a voting machine (a popularity contest).

Let me review the story of Netx from 2019 to 2021. calvintaneng of Singapore fame, the incessant promoter, identified Netx as his next stock to hype. He wrote and he puffed on this counter. He gave a story of his conversation with Penelope. (Was this important or material?) He told everyone of the NFC and based on his innate ability to spot an opportunity, he KNEW Netx was the counter that will benefit from NFC. The important point, he "KNEW" (basically, he guessed / or gambled, more rightly the case in hindsight.) As a good promoter, he must let everyone know that he sold 8 houses to invest into his latest loving stock. This was most important for a promoter, as it showed conviction and money in the game. Seriously, did he show this to anyone? Talk is so cheap indeed. For a period of time, calvintaneng was "popular". The piper sang a lovely song and Netx was a stock in a popularity contest. For a while, it looked beautiful to those BLINDED by the hype of calvintaneng. Calvintaneng even went overboard attacking so many who posted honestly and sincerely their thoughts on this company's fundamentals and businesses, including the behaviour of its managers. Calvintaneng proudly shot back, so and so has tunnel vision. :-)

Well, in investing, always look and study the risks first, and having taken care of these, the upside of the stock takes care of itself. In the short run, calvintaneng was able through his determination and noise to get a lot of suckers into his game. It was a popular contest / a beauty contest, and many voters turned up. Alas, in the long run, the detractors of Netx and those who cautioned on calvintaneng's over enthusiasm ( I call this his manic behaviour) were actually vindicated. Everything that I posted in Netx turned out to be very truthful indeed. Its quality of its businesses, its management, its behaviour in raising funds, and many others were analysed and questioned; and surprisingly or not surprisingly, these turned out to be the truth compared to the hypes of calvintaneng.

Happy investing, folks. There are a lot of lessons to learn from the story of Netx.

>>>
Posted by enigmatic [bamboo investing style] > 1 day ago | Report Abuse

I'm starting to see value emerging in consumer stocks, especially beaten down ones with rather good cashflow. What do you think, 3iii?
>>>

Good morning. Please share your idea and the company you are looking at. We can explore these together.

To recap, Coastal still holds 100% shares in JV company Coastoil Dynamic S.A.De C.V. (CDSA) that owns the Papan and Perdiz projects at Mexico. The transfer of JV partner Nuvoil group’s 50% stake in CDSA is expected to complete by 2HCY23. For now, Coastal recognises 100% of CDSA’s profits as its JV profit. Upon completion of the share transfer, accrued JV profit will be transferred back to Nuvoil.
Note that the 9M comparison may not be meaningful as the group applied equity accounting method on CDSA in 3QFY22.

UMW (ProspectP

The International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) in its latest World Economic Outlook report forecasted global economic growth to decline from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2023 stemming from the tight policy stances needed to bring down inflation, the fallout from the recent deterioration in financial conditions, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and growing geo-economic fragmentation.

Nevertheless, according to the IMF, countries in Asia could offset some of the effects of global headwinds by benefiting from the growth in China and India and has forecasted the Asia-Pacific region to expand by 4.6% in 2023 from 2.8% in 2022.

On the domestic front, Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) had raised the overnight policy rate to 3% on 3 May 2023 citing that economic activities are back to pre-pandemic levels. The gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth forecast is still expected to be between 4% and 5% this year supported by better-than-expected labour market conditions, stronger pick-up in tourism activities, as well as the implementation of projects including those from the recently re-tabled Budget 2023. The downside risks emanate primarily from external factors mentioned above.

31.3.2023

RM millions
Total Long Term Debt 3628.34
Long Term Debt 1388.32
Capital Lease Obligations 2240.02


Total Equity. 2550.98

Parkson has gone through a very challenging phase. Growth can be good and can also be very bad. It's expansion into Vietnam and Indonesia required lots of new capital and its shareholders would be glad to see these wound up to stop further bleeding and financial stress.

Over the decades, Parkstone has disposed various assets and closed down unprofitable outlets. It introduced new businesses (beverages, food, lifestyle), hoping to rejuvenate its business.

It still carries a huge amount of debt and its profit before tax just can about service its interest expense.

The latest quarter shows a profit and that is a good relief for Parkson which has reported losses after losses for so many quarters and years. Hopefully, this is sustainable.

With increasing interest rate environment and its huge debts, its turnaround remains a very challenging task indeed.

Chapter 20 - “Margin of Safety” as the Central Concept of Investment

A single quote by Graham on page 516 struck me:

Observation over many years has taught us that the chief losses to investors come from the purchase of low-quality securities at times of favorable business conditions.

Basically, Graham is saying that most stock investors lose money because they invest in companies that seem good at a particular point in time, but are lacking the fundamentals of a long-lasting stable company.

This seems obvious on the surface, but it’s actually a great argument for thinking more carefully about your individual stock investments. If most of your losses come from buying companies that seem healthy but really aren’t, isn’t that a profound argument for carefully studying any company you might invest in?

Date Jun 2016 Jun 2017 Jun 2018 Jun 2019 Jun 2020 Jun 2021
Long Term Loans 107,577 175,052 1,967,453 2,307,400 4,926,111 2,808,908
Overdrafts&Oth Borrowings 524,511 2,521,709 530,850 189,268 1,054,203 1,831,230

From 2020 to 2022, the interest expenses of Parkson increased substantially. This coincided with the period of the Covid pandemic.

Interest Expense

RM '000
FY 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 5Q 6Q

2016 (30,164) (30,105) (29,121) (27,039)
2017 (29,598) (26,761) (30,645) (29,694)
2018 (30,488) (30,564) (31,233) (37,718)
2019 (36,053) (37,812) (36,200) (40,069)
2020 (120,770) (131,589) (121,653) (111,517)
2021 (105,351) (106,249) (105,329) (103,651) (95,651) (92,854)
2022 (85,904) (89,501) (93,041) (101,036)

RM "000
Date 31.3.2023 31.3.2022
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities 115,811 126,149
Loans and borrowings 1,388,320 1,421,800
Long term payables and provisions 22,922 22,634
Lease liabilities 2,240,017 2,329,785
NCL 3,767,070 3,900,368
Current liabilities
Payables, other liabilities and provisions 1,245,214 1,266,211
Contract liabilities 408,276 414,305
Loans and borrowings 314,576 317,050
Lease liabilities 543,421 516,887
Tax payables 42,081 24,871
CL 2,553,568 2,539,324
Total liabilities 6,320,638 6,439,692


Current assets
Inventories 350,125 386,831
Receivables 544,565 480,248
Investment securities 59,510 68,477
Deposits, cash and bank balances 1,433,300 1,290,200
2,387,500 2,225,756
Non-current assets classified as held for sale (@) 48,356 192,933
CA 2,435,856 2,418,689

Borrowings and Debt Securities

RM "000
Date 31.3.2023 31.3.2022
Total non-current loans and borrowings 1,388,320 1,397,784
Total current loans and borrowings 314,576 284,064
Total loans and borrowings 1,702,896 1,681,848


RM "000
Date 31.3.2023 31.3.2022
Total equity 2,550,980 2,453,065
Total liabilities 6,320,638 6,439,692
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 8,871,618 8,892,757
Net assets per share attributable to owners of the parent (RM) 1.34 1.29

9.9.2022

Proposed disposal by Qingdao No. 1
Parkson Co., Ltd., an indirect 95.91%
owned subsidiary of Parkson Retail Group
Limited ("PRGL") which is in turn a 54.97%
owned subsidiary of the Company, of the
properties in Qingdao City, Shandong
Province, the People's Republic of China
("PRC") with an aggregate construction
area of approximately 76,013 square
metres, at the consideration of Rmb280
million (equivalent to approximately
RM180 million) ("Disposal")

Status
The shareholders' approval for PRGL on
the Disposal had been obtained on 28
October 2022.
The Disposal is pending the fulfilment of
conditions precedent.

The Group strives to enhance its operating efficiencies and cost improvements strategies, besides continuing to diversify the income sources to fully seize the opportunities, and promote long-term sustainable development of its businesses.

Parkson dipped into the red in FY2015 and remained loss-making for the next six years. The group was highly geared as at FYE2021P with a D/E of 2.75.

As at 31 December 2021, Parkson operates a total of 38 department stores in Malaysia, 45 stores in China and 4 stores in Vietnam. Parkson’s retailing operations in Indonesia were carried out by PT Tozy Sentosa, which is now in bankruptcy and is no longer controlled by the group. Parkson is also engaged in other business activities such as consumer financing, operation of food & beverage, as well as investment holding.

Parkson Malaysia has 38 stores as at 31 March 2023.

As at 31 March 2023, the Group has a network coverage of 43 stores in 29 cities across China.

The subsidiary in Vietnam had decided to take steps to cease operations in its last remaining store in Vietnam and had on 28 April 2023, filed an application for the commencement of voluntary bankruptcy proceedings.

Results of the Others division were mainly derived from the consumer financing business, operation of food and beverage business and investment holding. For the 3 months ended 31 March 2023, the division reported a higher revenue of RM16 million with an operating profit of RM0.1 million as the Group's consumer financing business and bakery operations continued to deliver positive growth in performance.

Ratios & Margins Parkson Holdings Bhd
All values updated annually at fiscal year end
Valuation
P/E Ratio (TTM) -
P/E Ratio (including extraordinary items) -
Price to Sales Ratio 0.05
Price to Book Ratio 0.10
Price to Cash Flow Ratio 0.50
Enterprise Value to EBITDA 7.62
Enterprise Value to Sales 1.16
Total Debt to Enterprise Value -
Total Debt to EBITDA 10.34
EPS (recurring) -0.11
EPS (basic) -0.10
EPS (diluted) -0.10
Efficiency
Revenue/Employee -
Income Per Employee -
Receivables Turnover -
Total Asset Turnover 0.32
Liquidity
Current Ratio 0.88
Quick Ratio 0.72
Cash Ratio 0.54
Profitability
Gross Margin +15.80
Operating Margin -3.58
Pretax Margin -5.41
Net Margin -4.08
Return on Assets -1.29
Return on Equity -7.48
Return on Total Capital -1.44
Return on Invested Capital -
Capital Structure
Total Debt to Total Equity -
Total Debt to Total Capital -
Total Debt to Total Assets 51.56
Interest Coverage -
Long-Term Debt to Equity -
Long-Term Debt to Total Capital -
Long-Term Debt to Assets 0.42

>>>
TSH

Number of Share : 1.382b
Imagine calvintaneng's manic price of $150 per share for TSH, what will be the market cap of TSH?

1.382 b x $150 = RM 207.3 b

Market Capital (RM) of Maybank today is 103.183b.
>>>.

The market capitalisation of the local bourse was RM1.74 trillion as at end-2022.
Thus, market capitalisation of Maybank is about 5.9% of the total market capitalisation of KLSE.

Can you imagine, based on calvintaneng's manic price of RM 150 per share for TSH, the market cap of TSH to be 12% of the total market capitalisation of KLSE!!!!! Always do your own homework, do not be led by the blind and those with poor insight.

The fortunes of a country’s equity or stock market are closely aligned with its economic well-being, and Malaysia is no exception.

Similar to its global peers, Bursa Malaysia been enduring much turbulence in the last few years.

Buffeted by strong external and internal headwinds, the market capitalisation of the local bourse had moderated further to RM1.74 trillion as at end-2022 (end-2021: RM1.79 trillion).

Despite the tumultuous global markets, a total of RM26.0 billion was raised from the Malaysian equity market in 2022.

- Of this amount, RM3.5 billion originated from the primary market, i.e., via 35 initial public offering (IPOs).

- The other RM22.6 billion stemmed from secondary fundraising.

The sturdier performance in 2022 was driven by a 52% y-o-y surge in IPOs and a 58% spike in secondary issuances.

Profile of Malaysian Equity Market

Bursa Malaysia has the distinction of being among the biggest bourses in ASEAN with well over 900 listed companies. Investors can choose from a variety of listed products, including
- equities,
- derivatives,
- exchange-traded funds (ETFs),
- real estate investment trusts (REITs), and
- exchange traded bonds and sukuk (ETBS).

Notably, 789 (81.2%) of the 972 listed entities on the local bourse were Shariah-compliant securities as at end-December 2022. These accounted for RM1.139 trillion or 65.6% of Bursa Malaysia’s overall market capitalisation as at the same date.

In 2022, the Main Market hosted the listing of five companies while the ACE Market welcomed 25 and the LEAP Market contributed another five – bringing the total to 35 IPOS for the year. Together, these newly listed entities raised RM3.49 billion.

The Malaysian stock market benefits from a diverse pool of investors, underscored by sturdy support from local institutional and retail investors.

1. Domestic institutions remained net sellers in 2022, to the tune of RM6.53 billion (2021: RM9.1 billion).

2. Meanwhile, local retail investors infused RM2.31 billion of net funds into the equity market, which paled in comparison to the previous year’s RM12.2 billion.

3. Interestingly, foreign investors pumped in RM4.40 billion net (2021: RM3.15 billion) after four consecutive years as net sellers.

Against this backdrop, the participation rate of retail investors declined to an average of 25.7% in terms of transaction value, relative to 34.6% in 2021. Nonetheless, this is still higher than the five-year pre-pandemic average of 18.8%

TSH

Number of Share : 1.382b
Imagine calvintaneng's manic price of $150 per share for TSH, what will be the market cap of TSH?

1.382 b x $150 = RM 207.3 b

Market Capital (RM) of Maybank today is 103.183b.
>>>
By Calvin Tan
Dear Investors of i3 Forum Malaysia’s richest man Robert Kuok with Rm40 Billions built his wealth in commodities like sugar, flour and Palm Oil. And that was when Palm oil peaked at Rm4,000 a ton Another Palm oil Billionaire is Remisier King of Singapore Peter Lim who turned $10 Millions into $1.5 Billions See the early days of Peter Lim Peter

Will these Millionaires also Turn into future Billionaires through

TSH RESOURCES?


Meanwhile we happily follow them buy and load up all the funds ____
at RM 1.72 as much
Meanwhile we happily follow them buy and load up all the funds ____
at RM 1.72 as much

Tsh now Rm1.72
Meanwhile we happily follow them buy and load up all the funds ____
at RM 1.72 as much


Short term target is Rm2.00 (very soon will reach there)

By year end / 30 December 2022 / we expect TSH to Reach Rm3.00 to Rm4.00
(historic high before bonus)

We compute that TSH Can Reach the Astounding Figure of Rm150 per share (that means it will have overtaken Nestle)

We compute that TSH Can Reach the Astounding Figure of Rm150 per share (that means it will have overtaken Nestle)

We compute that TSH Can Reach the Astounding Figure of Rm150 per share (that means it will have overtaken Nestle)
>>>>

KLK

Prospects
Crude palm oil prices have hovered between the range of RM3,500 to RM4,400 for the first quarter of the year. Producers are remaining cautious as production in Indonesia and Malaysia are not showing signs of a strong recovery that the industry expected at the outset of the year. However, global major edible oils supply this year is still forecasted to grow by close to 9 million tons, an approximately 4% growth. With demand likely to stay modest going forward due to economic concerns particularly in key consuming countries, prices are expected to trend lower.

The Group expects weaker profitability from the plantation segment as the second half of FY2023 is expected to see lower demand compared to the same period last year. The Group has made concerted efforts to improve estate management especially in the acquired estates, and clearing of backlog operation works with the return of adequate guest workers in Peninsular Malaysia.

The macroeconomic environment for manufacturing segment, particularly oleochemical subsegment, remained challenging with weak consumer sentiment, caused by escalated inflation and risk of recession. The quantitative tightening by most of the major economies has also led to the supply-demand imbalance. The focus of the Group includes expansion of product applications and sustainability efforts to meet customers’ expectations.

Overall, the Group expects its financial performance for second half of FY2023 to be
significantly lower

Prospects
Crude palm oil prices have hovered between the range of RM3,500 to RM4,400 for the first quarter of the year. Producers are remaining cautious as production in Indonesia and Malaysia are not showing signs of a strong recovery that the industry expected at the outset of the year. However, global major edible oils supply this year is still forecasted to grow by close to 9 million tons, an approximately 4% growth. With demand likely to stay modest going forward due to economic concerns particularly in key consuming countries, prices are expected to trend lower.

The Group expects weaker profitability from the plantation segment as the second half of FY2023 is expected to see lower demand compared to the same period last year. The Group has made concerted efforts to improve estate management especially in the acquired estates, and clearing of backlog operation works with the return of adequate guest workers in Peninsular Malaysia.

The macroeconomic environment for manufacturing segment, particularly oleochemical subsegment, remained challenging with weak consumer sentiment, caused by escalated inflation and risk of recession. The quantitative tightening by most of the major economies has also led to the supply-demand imbalance. The focus of the Group includes expansion of product applications and sustainability efforts to meet customers’ expectations.

Overall, the Group expects its financial performance for second half of FY2023 to be
significantly lower

Should the Shares Sale was completed on 31 March 2023, the Company's eventual effective shareholdings in the JVC will be 50% and the effect of the Shareholding on the profit for the period would have been as follows:

Cumulative 9 months ended 31 March 2023
RM '000
Profit for the period 437,479
Less: Effect of the Shares Sale (206,676)
Adjusted (loss)/profit for the period 230,803

The Group's borrowings as at the end of the quarter were as follows:

Group Borrowings and Debt Securities
As at
31 March 2023
RM'000
Short term
Secured 39,419
Unsecured 299,159
338,578

Long term
Secured 60,802
Unsecured 28,765
89,567

Total 428,145



The current gearing is within management comfort level.
Apart from RM16.8 million of secured borrowings which are denominated in Ringgit Malaysia, all the other borrowings are denominated in United States Dollar.

The debt-equity ratio of the Group has decreased to 0.236 from last quarter's 0.247. Internally generated funds derived from operations were utilised to sustain the Group's working capital requirements during the quarter under review.

SSLee Thanks for highlighting the risks. This is useful.

Latest

Profit after tax
3Q23 153.7 m

Net Asset Per Share RM 3.40

The Group achieved a higher profit before tax of RM158.8 million in 3Q2023 compared to RM151.0 million reported in 2Q2023, an increase of 5%. Against 3Q2022, the profit before tax has risen 220% from RM49.7 million. The year-on-year improved performance was mainly attributed to the higher profit shared from the joint venture and interest income earned from loan granted to the joint venture.

Profit after tax
1Q23 141.5 m
2Q23 140.7 m
1H23 282,2 m
It is probable that its earnings for the whole year = 2 x 282m = 564vm

At 2.35 per share, its market cap is 1282.642 m

Based on assumptions, projected:
P/E = 2.3x
Latest FY ROE 13.31%
Book Value per share RM 2.57
P/B 0.91

DPS 2023 15 sen

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2023/05/21/nationwide-blackouts-planned

Coastal Contracts Bhd’s net profit jumped more than threefold to RM153.66 million for the third quarter ended March 31, 2023 (3QFY2023) against RM44.32 million in the previous corresponding period, mainly buoyed by a higher share of profit of joint venture (JV) amounting to RM129.87 million. This was on the back of higher interest income earned from a loan granted to a JV and greater profit shared from its JV in the gas processing division. The oil and gas outfit’s revenue rose 3.5% to RM55.74 million from RM53.84 million previously.