https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-digitals-3q-earnings-almost-doubles

"CTOS Digital Bhd posted a 95% surge in net profit to RM22.76 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), up from RM11.67 million a year earlier"

www.enanyang.my/财经新闻/第三季净利大涨95-ctos数字派息06仙

"第三季净利大涨95% CTOS数字派息0.6仙"

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https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-raise-stake-ram-over-55-39

'CTOS to raise stake in RAM to over 55% from 39%'

Latest QR :
https://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=219780&name=EA_FR_ATTACHMENTS

"What's Happening To CTOS?"

by FIRL

YouTube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-KRenCSUzQ

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2022/07/27/ctos-declares-second-interim-dividend

"The credit reporting agency’s revenue rose 22.9% to RM46.51mil in the second quarter from RM37.8mil a year earlier bolstered by a strong performance from its core business across all three customer segments.

Earnings per share stood at 0.90 sen in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with 0.60 sen in the previous corresponding period."

Ctos will be under strong selling pressure this week and the next, many fear that Fed is expected to raise rates by more than 50 basis point. Let's hope it gets down to 1.00, looking to add a little.

Upcoming project - The Vue @ Monterez

www.thevue.com.my
facebook.com/TheVueAtMonterez

https://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=218979&name=EA_FR_ATTACHMENTS

Latest QR

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-get-rm42m-boost-2q-earnings-tax-reversal

"With this approval, there will be an immediate reversal of approximately RM4.2 million in tax provision from FY21, boosting 2QFY22 net earnings by a similar amount"

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-reports-62-jump-1q-profit-names-erick-hamburger-new-ceo-dennis-martins-april-30

"CTOS Digital Bhd’s net profit soared 62.3% to RM12.48 million for its first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1QFY22) from RM7.69 million last year"

"Revenue rose 12.4% to RM42.7 million, from RM38 million. Share of profits of associates grew 45.8% to RM2.4 million, contributed by CTOS' 49% stake in Juris Technologies acquired in March, and higher profit from Business Online Public Company Ltd"

"The group's earnings per share (EPS) rose to 0.6 sen, from 0.4 sen. CTOS keeps to its 60% dividend payout ratio by declaring a first interim dividend of 0.325 sen per share that will be paid out on June 10, 2022"

'CTOS Digital raises stake in Thailand's BOL to 24.825%'

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-digital-raises-stake-thail...

Plus the Juristech acquisition, I'm positive on the PP, it won't translate to immediate revenue growth, but it shows they have desire & hunger for growth, rather than settling as just a credit reporting agency.

Having a small stake in Thailand also bodes well for the future, because the high-speed rail from Thai to China will begin operating in 2026, Thailand's economy will be much stronger than Msia in the next decade.

But as this is a high-PE counter, Ctos' share price will be under pressure as long as the Ukr-Rus war is on-going.

www.enanyang.my/财经新闻/持股536-epf晋ctos数字大股东

EPF has acquired 39.9mil CTOS shares

https://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=217699&name=EA_FR_ATTACHMENTS

Latest QR

https://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=217169&name=EA_FR_ATTACHMENTS

Page 14 of the QR :

Note A8 - Encouraging to see decent growth under 'digital solutions'. Let's see if eKYC, Credit Manager and Tenant Screening report can fuel further growth in FY22.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-digital-4q-net-profit-slips-86-higher-admin-expenses-declares-033-sen-dividend

'CTOS Digital 4Q net profit slips 8.6% on higher admin expenses, declares 0.33 sen dividend'

As expected both revenue and profit were slightly affected by the 6-week temporary suspension of Ccris in the previous quarter. Looking forward to the impact of digital bank licenses and the new acquisition this year.

Katy Perry's concert at RWLV the other day was a big success

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssVvGC1qWCE

Bought some today, good luck guys.

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/12/28/improving-sentiment-on-ctos-digital

28 Dec - 'As up to five digital banking licences may be issued as early as in the first quarter of 2022 and with the emergence of various peer-to-peer lending and micro-lending players, CTOS’ proposals will enable it to better equip itself and put it firmly on the path of becoming a prominent service provider, they noted.

RHB Research said there were also opportunities to cross-sell and tap into each other’s clientele regionally.

Kenanga Research said although the earnings accretion is diluted by the placement, it was still positive on the deals, especially on the JurisTech acquisition, as this would allow CTOS to provide an end-to-end digital lending service.

However, the 6.2% earnings dilution from an enlarged share base would weigh in and only enhance FY22 EPS by about 1%.

It retains its “outperform’’ call with a target price of RM2 a share.

Both RHB Research and HLIB Research retain their “buy’’ calls with target prices of RM2.42 and RM2.45 a share, respectively.'

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-digital-buy-49-stake-fintech-specialist-juristech-rm2058m

'CTOS Digital to buy 49% stake in fintech specialist JurisTech for RM205.8m'

'Separately, in a bourse filing, CTOS Digital has also proposed to raise its stake in Business Online Public Company Ltd (BOL) from 22.65% currently by 2.25% to 24.9%, to increase its share of profits from the largest company information bureau in Thailand, with an estimated 59% of market share in terms of annual revenue.'

Business Online PCL (BOL) which Ctos has 22.65% stake in it, their stock price has closed at historic high on Thai stock exchange today.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/hlib-research-initiates-coverage-ctos-target-price-rm245

“On Nov 17, 2021, CTOS announced that it has received a confirmation from BNM that its access to CCRIS has been restored. Sensitivity wise, for every month of prolonged CCRIS suspension, it would impact the group’s revenue by RM4 million and PATAMI by RM1.6 million — which is 3% of FY21F PATAMI, based on our estimates,”

HLIB initiates coverage on CTOS while giving an estimate the impact of 6 weeks of temporary suspension of Ccris in Q4.

Clearly revenue related to property & automotive sectors were not main contributors to Ctos revenue, otherwise their Q3 would be much worse.

SME indeed is backbone of the economy, and SME was also the sector badly affected by lockdown in Q3, which was mainly why Ctos' Q3 registered no growth compared to Q2.

That's why IB were not wrong to give Ctos high target prices, considering Ctos quarterly reports registered growth even during pandemic, when economy gradually recover towards pre-Covid levels Ctos naturally would register higher revenue.

"Regarding business risks, in its initial public offer (IPO) prospectus, CTOS pointed out that it enjoys pioneer status tax relief (effective tax rate of 5.8% for FY20), which is significantly lower than the statutory tax rate of 24% in Malaysia.

The group believes the pioneer status will be renewed this year, and it plans to seek the renewal from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp in the third quarter of 2021, for five years until November 2026."

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/07/03/new-products-solutions-to-drive-ctos-growth

There are a few possible negative catalysts for this counter, as pointed out in the news above, they currently have pioneer status tax relief, which might or might not be renewed. It could put pressure on the share price, considering government is trying hard to increase tax revenue.

And the negative impact of 6 weeks of temporary suspension of Ccris in Q4 is an unknown factor too, we'll only know when Q4 result comes out next month.

And Inodes' (Creador) 6-month moratorium ends next month too.

Clearly banks were part of essential services. But property and vehicles sector were not. Lesser sales from those sector naturally meant lesser demand for Ctos reports during a lockdown.

There was zero growth in their Q3 result because Malaysia spent Q3 under lockdown, property and vehicle sales were affected, leading to lower revenue generated by Ctos reports. It was good enough their Q3 result matched Q2's.

https://focusmalaysia.my/ctos-prospects-intact-amid-soft-market-sentiment-business-concerns/?fbclid=IwAR2zFApkeVZdubIi1WTjaNuuLcTIO-5tkbBmYGMt_70WH09Sh1ttr-gsnbI

9 Dec - Kenanga Research listed the catalysts as follows:

- Greater demand for reports fuelled by a boom in eKYC (know your customer) across industries as customers from financial institutions to e-payment providers look to fully onboard clients virtually;

- Healthy appetite for merger & acquisitions (M&As) (including regional) to fuel earnings growth; and

- Continued growth from new products in new sectors (auto, insurance and real estate).

With its share price correction “presenting an attractive opportunity to own a scarce ASEAN-listed credit rating agency”, Kenanga Research has upgraded CTOS to “outperform” (from “market perform previously) with an unchanged target price of RM2.

“The current price of RM1.77 implies a FY2022E PER of 49.3 times compared to our ascribed 55 times,” noted the research house.

“CTOS continues to deserve a 55x PER for its (i) market leader status with 71.2% share in an underpenetrated market; (ii) more robust industry growth (2021-2025E compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2%) vs developed nation peers (US: 7.5%; UK: 5.3%; and (iii) superior earnings growth of ~20% (vs peers’ 12-14%).”

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/2021/12/08/ctos-digital-raises-stake-in-ram-to-rm81

Dec 8 - "CTOS Digital Bhd has upped its stake in RAM Holdings Bhd by an additional 3.5%, bringing its total shareholdings in the bond rating agency to 8.1%"

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/12/01/ctos-idguard-prevents-over-rm79-million-in-fraud

1 Dec 2021 - CTOS IDGuard prevents over RM79 million in fraud

'The initial participating group of Maybank, RHB, CIMB, Alliance Bank and Ambank has been joined by BMW Financial Services, while Hong Leong and six other banks are in the midst of implementation'

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/analysts-foresee-solid-recovery-genting-and-genting-malaysia

'Analysts on Friday maintained their buy calls on Genting Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd (GENM) as they foresee solid recovery for the two companies.'

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-access-bnms-ccris-restored

'Credit reporting agency CTOS Digital Bhd has had access by its subsidiary CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd to Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) restored effective Wednesday'

Only trust verified news, not the trolls.

Better not to ask for advice here, there are lots of lies and trolls here. Happy trading.

https://www.bnm.gov.my/-/bank-negara-malaysia-introduces-eccris

19 Jan 2018 - "Bank Negara Malaysia wishes to announce the introduction of its new initiative – eCCRIS, a secure online platform for the public to access their own Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) report, anywhere at their convenience. This service is provided for free and is available nationwide starting today."

Ccris reports had been available for free since 2018.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/2021/10/738796/ctos-digital-appears-favourable-given-new-products-line-customer

22 Oct - 'Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) analyst Fahmi Farid said the compromise assessment had been completed following the independent information technology security firm testing, with no breach identified within CTOS' internal systems.'

https://focusmalaysia.my/maybank-ib-ctos-to-resume-ccris-service-in-due-course/?fbclid=IwAR2jsRF8T8NZMFFrVPyYkHbU2lcrpwAYI673xOv2_-qoIMgEojtmOR8D8zg

21 Oct - 'Maybank IB Research maintained its “buy” rating on CTOS with a marginally higher target price of RM2.35 (from RM2.34 previously) based on 2.8 times FY2022 price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) target (in-line with global peer basket mean)'

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ctos-hopeful-access-ccris-reinstated-soon

20 Oct - 'Group CEO Dennis Martin tells The Edge in an email reply that the credit reporting agency submitted its initial findings to Bank Negara last Friday after going through rigorous independent assessment.'

'He says that the assessment undertaken to date, which remains ongoing, shows that no breach has been detected in CTOS. The group is proactively sharing reports of the various assessments and additional security measures undertaken to Bank Negara on a regular basis.'

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/celine-dion-delays-opening-of-new-las-vegas-show-at-the-resorts-world-theatre-due-to-medical-reasons-849667134.html

Unfortunately Celine Dion has to delay her concerts next month at RWLV due to "severe muscle spasms".

Next up is Carrie Underwood and Katie Perry's concerts in December.

Q3 was expected to be bad. Lockdown during Q3 meant little-to-no sales of properties and vehicles, meaning little demand for Ctos reports during Q3.

https://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=216032&name=EA_FR_ATTACHMENTS

Page 25 of the Q3 report :

"CDS is in the final stages of completing the independent Compromise Assessment which has thus far indicated no data leaks from CDS and has validated the strength of the CDS’s security infrastructure. Once BNM has had the opportunity to review this report, we are hopeful the access will be restored. The impact is likely to be only for October and immaterial to our revenue for FYE2021."

Encouraging to see although Malaysia undergone prolonged lockdown in much of 3rd quarter, Ctos' performance wasn't affected by too much.

https://www.orientaldaily.com.my/news/business/2021/10/15/444260

'按年上升9.32%　CTOS数码第3季净赚1167万令吉'

No wonder there was an increase in volume towards the end.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/gentingbacked-sightline-eyes-global-expansion-its-digital-payment-solutions

"Genting group-backed Sightline Payments, a digital payment solution provider for the sports betting and casino markets, is eyeing global expansion after achieving unicorn status just two months ago."

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/fitch-upgrades-genms-empire-resorts-idr-bexp-recapitalisation

'Fitch upgrades GenM's Empire Resorts IDR to 'B+(EXP)' on recapitalisation'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRSCBSPiDWc

No wonder RWLV was so busy last weekend, Paris Hilton had a bachelorette party there at never before seen 4-bedroom 7000sqft Palace suite that has its own pool and garden/lounge area

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHB_PDLR7qE

This livestream started on Saturday afternoon (Vegas time) just ended hours ago. This youtuber done a walkthrough at RWLV from the start of the video until 38:00.

04:50 - 09:00 the casino floor is quite packed.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-pm-says-covid-19-new-normal-could-take-up-6-months-2021-10-09/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Um3y8yFe5qLiJAgObOqXlQqKvnK5A8B7niZasPVCG7wsbWnofuoOhvyw

'From Oct. 19 fully vaccinated people from eight countries, including Britain, France, Spain and the United States, will be able to enter the island without quarantining if they pass their COVID-19 tests, the government said on Saturday.'

Good news for RW Sentosa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcKnay6nxzw

RWLV theatre is 95% ready. First concert is just 4 weeks away.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/credit-suisse-and-rhb-remain-gungho-ctos

"Credit Suisse has initiated coverage of CTOS Digital Bhd with an “outperform” rating and a target price (TP) of RM2.50"

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58024116

July 2021 - 'Amazon hit with $886m fine for alleged data law breach'
Companies involved with users' online personal data will always be susceptible to hacking or cyber attacks.

Strong companies will recover from hiccups like this and Amazon's share price wasn't badly affected.

For Ctos, a company that has near 70% market share, this will test their resilience and capability in dealing with future data breach, but BNM did not specify root cause nor name Ctos as the cause of the breach.

And you must fully understand the difference between Ccris and Ctos reports before making investment decision regarding this counter. Majority subscribers of Ctos reports are banks, not end users.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/langkawi-tourism-bubble-project-great-success-says-lada

'Langkawi tourism bubble project a great success, says Langkawi Development Authority'

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-eyes-international-border-reopening-december?fbclid=IwAR2TTzOQ4z5KCrohRsW5nbBO8yfyihl30EUOTKETg_VK1aIyrlJasw41V1Y

'Malaysia eyes international border reopening in December'