Property losses. We understand that completion of the Star Tower and the remaining 3 blocks could take longer than expected with the initial target now being pushed back to 1H2020. We are disappointed by the delay but believe that it is adequately discounted for in our forecasts. Unbilled sales as at 3QFY19 stood at RM115m (from RM121m a quarter ago). Loss at property development was RM17.9m; mainly due to the LAD provided and lower rental income during the quarter. Separately, occupancy at the Evolve Concept Mall remains at 85%, though up from 62% in 1QFY19 with recent signing of an anchor tenant which took up 154k sf.

The Oceancash Pacific Berhad (KLSE:OCNCASH) share price has done well in the last month, posting a gain of 69%. Looking back a bit further, we’re also happy to report the stock is up 55% in the last year.

Bumi Armada loses Woodside dispute, required to pay AU$1.57m

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Berhad (KLSE:BAT) shares are down a considerable 33% in the last month. And that drop will have no doubt have some shareholders concerned that the 73% share price decline

Icon Offshore's securities were categorised as designated counters until further notice by Bursa Malaysia effective today, due to excessive speculation.

Marine & General Bhd shareholders have today approved its debt-to-equity scheme to restructure RM200 million of its RM923.2 million debts owed by its subsidiaries.

Marine & General's 70 per cent-owned unit Jasa Merin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (JMM), and two other units namely JM Global 3 (Labuan) PLC (JMG 3) and JM Global 4 (Labuan) PLC (JMG 4), have agreed with Affin Bank Bhd, Maybank Islamic Bank Bhd and Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd to restructure the outstanding facilities by JMM and its subsidiaries.

Powerwell IPO oversubscribed by 24.27 times

NIX Technologies Holdings Bhd has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with RLONG TUO International Watch, a well-known luxury Chinese diamond watch company and Gk Global Group, a Korean cell therapy company, to create a new e-commerce platform.

Upgrade to BUY, TP: RM0.76. After our earnings adjustment, our TP rises to RM0.76 from RM0.74 previously, based on 10x revised CY20 EPS of 7.6 sen. We continue to like Homeritz due to healthy net cash per share per share of 28.9 sen and increased automation efforts. We upgrade our call to BUY (from Hold previously) following recent share price retracement and our earnings upgrade.

TMC Life Sciences secures financing of up to RM90m to hire equipment

GuocoLand (Malaysia) Bhd has dropped even deeper into the red for the second financial quarter ended Dec 31, 2019 (2QFY20), due to lower sales of completed units, as well as higher marketing costs.

It posted a widened loss of RM14.85 million in 2QFY20, compared with RM12.65 million in the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue was also 18.3% lower at RM90.19 million, from RM110.42 million previously.

Poly Glass Fibre (M) Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Nov 30, 2019 fell 39.81% to RM2.56 million from RM4.26 million a year ago, dragged down by its property development and glasswool manufacturing divisions.

Its revenue was 25.61% lower at RM16 million against RM21.51 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.

"The board is of the view that CLIM had exceeded the 20% maximum shareholding limit stipulated by Securities Commission Guidelines for public offerings of securities of closed-end funds, the Main Market listing requirements and the constitution of the fund," it said.

Eduspec Holdings Bhd has entered into a collaboration agreement with Matlamat Wawasan Sdn Bhd (MWSB) for the implementation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes with computer science for primary schools and with robotics for secondary schools under the ministry of education (MoE).

We cut our FY20-22E earnings by 37-38% and our new SOTP-based TP is MYR4.30 . Downgrade to HOLD with only 4% upside. For the long term, Atlan’s land assets still carry deep redevelopment/revaluation values. However, we don’t expect Atlan to re-rate until earnings of its duty free business recover.

We maintain our BUY call on Guan Chong with an unchanged FV of RM3.49/share, pegged to a P/E of 13x FY21F PE which is at a discount to international peer’s average forward P/E of 19x.
We like Guan Chong for its: 1) growth potential from expansion plan, 2) its position as the 4th largest cocoa bean grinder, and 3) stable earnings trajectory on the back of experienced management.

Post-earnings revision, we downgrade BAT to a HOLD, with a lower TP of RM19.20.

BUY with a TP of RM4.80 implying a 5.6x FY20E EV/Fwd EBITDA. Sentiment for the stock could have been bashed with the cancellation of the merger with Telenor. However, we believe that developments of other potential tie-ins could reinvigorate interest, presenting a decent risk-to-reward backed by a guarded earnings outlook.

Sanichi to set up ASEAN's first JAKIM-certified halal gelatin plant in Melaka

XiDeLang's auditor resigns after sanctions by Audit Oversight Board

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Carlsberg seen in good position to tap growing premium beer trend

KLK tops Bursa gainers on profit rise

IJM Corp posted a 220% year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit to RM70.1 million for its second quarter ended Sept 30, 2019, on improved earnings from its property development, manufacturing and quarrying, plantation and infrastructure divisions.

Revenue for the period rose 20.2% YoY to RM1.57 billion. On a year-to-date basis, net profit increased 52.96% YoY to RM129.53 million as revenue grew 13.45% YoY to RM3.12 billion.

The company declared a single-tier first interim dividend of two sen per share which will be paid on Dec 27, 2019, to entitled stakeholders.

Sentiment towards palm oil is expected to sustain into 2020 due to supply constraints, lower output of alternative oils and prospects of better demand.

London Biscuits Bhd is no longer a major shareholder of associate Khee San Bhd.

Financially-stressed London Biscuits announced to Bursa Malaysia that it has sold all its shares in Khee San, which will soon have a new controlling shareholder, Mamee-Double Decker (M) Sdn Bhd.

A separate filing with Bursa by Khee San shows that London Biscuits has disposed of its entire holding of 20.80 million shares in the open market.

“Air Selangor has completed the takeover of all private concessionaires, namely Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd, Konsortium ABASS Sdn Bhd, Konsortium Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd.

“The successful restructuring means all water concessions have come to an end,” he said.

The company last secured a US$131 million (RM539.72 million) drilling contract via its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Velesto Drilling Sdn Bhd.

In July this year, Sapura Energy’s management indicated that the company expected to turn profitable when the utilisation of both its E&C and drilling assets crosses the 70% mark.

The industry analyst said the utilisation of the company’s drilling assets was expected to improve from approximately 40% to between 45% and 50% for the third quarter ended Oct 31 this year (3Q19), but was still below the 70% threshold.

Solarvest is a turnkey engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) solution specialist that designs, procures, installs and commissions large-scale solar (LSS) projects.

The group is 41.1%-owned by listed building materials distributor Chin Hin Group Bhd — formerly known as Boon Koon Group Bhd.

It has been reported that Solarvest won four of six bids in the second round of the LSS2 scheme, and is expecting to do better in LSS3 bidding process, the outcome of which is expected to be announced by year end.

Scanwolf Corp Bhd plans to sell part of its property inventory worth about RM99.2 million to address a loan default by a major wholly-owned subsidiary, Scanwolf Development Sdn Bhd (SDSB), it said in a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday.

SDSB had failed to repay an instalment of RM1.75 million on the due date of April 1. Its total outstanding borrowings is RM8.74 million. According to Scanwolf, SDSB had fallen behind on repayments as a sluggish property market affected sales.

Kumpulan Powernet Bhd’s substantial shareholder Datuk Dr Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah owned 40.65 million shares, or a 53.38% stake, in the group at the close of his takeover offer yesterday.

This was announced by RHB Investment Bank Bhd on behalf of Kumpulan Powernet in a statement today.

The statement said Abdul Karim, who is also the managing director and chief executive officer of Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, intends to maintain the listing status of Kumpulan Powernet on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

Abdul Karin made the mandatory general takeover offer on Oct 2 after raising his stake in Kumpulan Powernet to 36.49%, following the purchase of 12.25 million shares or 16.09% for RM12.25 million or RM1 per share.

The corrugated paper packaging producer’s net profit jumped 171% to RM3.48 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19), from RM1.28 million a year ago, as it records higher revenue following a surge in demand from existing customers.

Revenue grew 54.16% to RM50.56 million from RM32.8 million. The group has paid an interim dividend of two sen per share amounting to RM1.09 million for FY19.

D&O, controlled by savvy businessman Goh Nan Kioh, is one of the world's leading surface mount LED manufacturers for the global automotive industry.

It mainly provides services of original equipment manufacturer (OEM), original design manufacturer (ODM) and original branding manufacturer (OBM) in opto-semiconductor products, catered for automotive, general lighting, backlight unit and sensor applications.

At the time of writing, the buying impetus for the stock is not known. The company is due to announce its third quarter earnings figure by end-November.

Mesiniaga Bhd, a hardy stock usually, gained 6.6% to touch a two-month high after the group yesterday announced a RM261.56 million contract awarded by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to build new infrastructure for the Accountant General's Department of Malaysia (AGD).

Plantation sector
Upgrade to overweight: We are turning more positive on the plantation sector as we believe the current positive crude palm oil (CPO) price sentiment will sustain into 2020 due to supply constraints arising from potential palm production deficits in Malaysia and Indonesia, lower soybean output in the US and more positive demand prospects (arising from higher biodiesel mandates in Malaysia and Indonesia from 2020 as well as the spreading of African swine fever

TSH Resources Posts Oct Production Of Crude Palm Oil 10,412 MT

Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) expects oil palm planters to report flattish-to-lower third quarter 2019 earnings as output recovery is offset by lower palm oil prices.

However, selected Sarawak-based planters such as Ta Ann Holdings Bhd and Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd are likely to report better quarter-on-quarter core earnings on stronger output, the bank-backed research firm noted in a recent report.

"Integrated players will fare relatively better, benefiting from low feedstock costs,” said Maybank IB.

Investors should look forward to earnings recovery in 2020. Valuations of small-mid caps are low on an enterprise value/planted ha basis and present an accumulation opportunity

The purchase, via Oriental Interest’s 70%-owned subsidiary Myra Land Sdn Bhd, is part of the group’s “future expansion with regards to its strength and niche in the property development market in the central region of Peninsular Malaysia” Oriental Interest said.

The purchase is line with the group’s strategic planning to leverage on the group’s strengths in property development and construction, to develop the land complementary the group’s existing development in Klang Valley, the group added in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

Oriental Interest said the purchase, to be satisfied by internally-generated funds and bank borrowings, will not have material effect on the group’s net assets, gearing and earnings for the financial year ending June 30, 2020 (FY20).

BRIEF-Pintaras Jaya Says Lim Chee Eng Appointed As Executive Director

pegged at a forecast financial year 2021 (FY21F) price-earnings ratio of 14 times after reducing our FY20 to FY22 forecasts by 5% as we adjusted our margin assumptions in line with guidance.

We attended ATA’s first quarter (1Q) of FY20 results briefing and came away with some key highlights.

Its 1QFY20 core profit came in at RM25 million, lower by 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) despite revenue soaring 45%, attributable to lower efficiency and productivity amid the festive season, newer models having higher material contents and higher start-up costs associated with new assembly lines.

Sapura Resources in JV with Rolls-Royce unit to distribute power systems products

IE Industrial Bhd’s first half of the financial year 2019 (1HFY19) earnings largely in-line with its core net profit (CNP) of RM8.68 million was largely within our and consensus’ full-year estimates at 23% and 22% respectively. We have excluded net addition of impairment losses and net reversal of inventories written down amounting to RM120,000 from the CNP.

Cumulative CNP improved by 4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM8.68 million as revenue increased by 15.8% to RM332.2 million. We note that the lower profit margin for the same comparative period is mainly due to the new project for a high volume product which led to operational inefficiency particularly in the first quarter (1Q).

The corrugated paper packaging producer’s net profit jumped 171% to RM3.48 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19), from RM1.28 million a year ago, as it records higher revenue following a surge in demand from existing customers.

Revenue grew 54.16% to RM50.56 million from RM32.8 million. The group has paid an interim dividend of two sen per share amounting to RM1.09 million for FY19.

The company’s net profit dropped 90.26% to RM1.87 million for the third quarter ended June 30, 2019 from RM19.19 million for the same period last year, due to lower operating income as revenue fell 16.31% to RM56.36 million from RM67.34 million.

We reiterate our “buy” recommendation on Salutica with a higher FV of RM1.06 per share (previously 61 sen per share) pegged at a rolled-forward FY21F PER of 14 times. We have increased our FY20 to FY22 earnings forecasts by 20% to 28% to account for higher order forecasts from customer A after visiting the group’s Ipoh plant recently. — AmInvestment Bank, Nov 1

TRADING of shares in IFCA MSC Bhd (fundamental: 2.7/3, valuation: 1.1/3) triggered our momentum algorithm yesterday for the eighth time this year after the trading volume surged eight times to 102.48 million versus the counter’s 200-day average of 12.55 million shares. It was the most actively traded stock in yesterday’s trade.

Axiata’s firm regional market presence to boost 3Q performance

Plantation counters are experiencing bullish share prices on Bursa Malaysia following positive news on exports and reduction in palm oil stocks by 4.1 per cent to 2.35 million tonnes in October, which pushed up crude palm oil (CPO) prices.

Main Market-bound integrated engineering supporting services provider UWC Bhd is aiming to raise RM57.4 million from its initial public offering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia.

UWC is principally involved in the provision of precision sheet metal fabrication and value-added assembly services as well as the fabrication of precision machined components.

MSCI said it will delete Boustead Plantations Bhd, Eastern & Oriental Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd and UOA Development Bhd from the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes' MSCI Malaysia Index, following its November 2019 semi-annual index review.

Meanwhile, Alliance Bank, Ekovest Bhd, Frontken Corp Bhd, Leong Hup International Bhd, MMC Corp Bhd, Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Sime Darby Property, S P Setia and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd will be added into the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes' MSCI Malaysia Index.