Works on RM1.5b Samalaju Port to start in January next year

KUCHING (May 11): Works on the interim facilities for the proposed development of the RM1.5 billion Samalaju Port near Bintulu is expected to start by January next year, BINTULU PORT HOLDINGS BHD [] chief executive officer Datuk Mior Ahmad Baiti Mior Lub Ahmad said on Friday.

He said the proposal on the general layout had been submitted to the State Planning Authority on Dec 8, 2011 while PricewaterhouseCoopers had already conducted all the relevant studies and recommendations, including for project funding.

"We are now in the final stages of concluding the deal and the funding aspect has been discussed with our major shareholders involving Petronas, Sarawak State Financial Secretary and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan," he told reporters after Bintulu Port's annual general meeting here.

He said tenders involving several packages for the full development of the port, which was located under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score), would be called soon.

Once fully operational, he said, Samalaju Port was expected to handle an annual cargo throughput of 18 million metric tonnes compared with 16 million tonnes of non Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo currently being handled by Bintulu Port.

However, he was confident the cargo volume could rise up to 30 million metric tonnes annually, according to demand, in view of the potentials in the oil and gas industry as well as bulk fertiliser trade during the first phase of development.

The company had been given the task to build, own and operate the proposed port on some 450 hectares of land earmarked by the Sarawak government, he said.

He said Samalaju Port is to serve industries located at Samalaju Industrial Park, 60 km from Bintulu Port and its infrastructure development would be planned accordingly to serve the anticipated cargo generated by the industries within the Score.

Meanwhile, Mior Ahmad Baiti said crude palm oil (CPO) cargo had overtaken container cargo as one of the leading contributors to Bintulu Port's revenue.

With containers being handled at the port relegated to the third leading revenue contributor, he said, the sector saw a drop to 215,451 TEUs (20 foot equivalent units) in 2011 from 251,296 TEUs in 2010.

The group cargo throughput rose by 2.65 per cent to 41.70 million tonnes in 2011 from 40.61 million tonnes in 2010.

LNG still remained the major contributor with 24.89 million tonnes of cargo throughput and the remaining 16.81 million tonnes from non LNG cargoes, he said. — Bernama



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Bintulu Port among top gainers, 15 sen dividend closely watched

KUALA LUMPUR (April 23) : BINTULU PORT HOLDINGS BHD [] emerged as one of the top gainers across the exchange on Monday, possibly, in anticipation of the port operator’s proposed final dividend of 15 sen a share.

The stock rose as much as 1.4% or 10 sen to RM7.30 as at 3.22pm. The firm plans to reward shareholders with a final dividend of 15 sen a share comprising two single-tier payouts of 7.5 sen each for financial year ended December 31, 2011.

The dividends, if approved by shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on May 11, will bring total dividends for the year to 37.5 sen which translates into a yield of 5.1% based on the stock’s latest price.

The ex and entitlement dates for the final payout falls on May 11 and 15 respectively.



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KLCI struggles to breach 1,600-mark

KUALA LUMPUR (APRIL 17): The FBM KLCI stayed in positive territory in the morning session on Tuesday, but struggled to breach the 1,600-point mark as regional markets mostly retreated on mounting concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

Asian shares were capped while the euro fell on Tuesday, as soaring Spanish borrowing costs underscored the fading impact of the European Central Bank's bond purchases and stoked investor nervousness over euro zone debt woes, according to Reuters.

The FBM KLCI was up 0.69 of a point to 1,598.20 at the mid-day break.

Gainers trailed losers by 283 to 278, while 322 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.2 billion shares valued at RM669.23 million.

The ringgit strengthened 0.03% to 3.0665 versus the greenback, crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery fell RM2 per tonne to RM3,485, crude oil was unchanged at US$102.93 per barrel while gold fell US$2.63 an ounce to US$1,649.25.

At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.11% top 9,480.84 while Taiwan’s Taiex fell 1.61% to 7,605.13, Hong Kong’s hang Seng Index lost 0.58% to 20,490.90, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was down 0.39% to 2,980.57, South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.30% to 1,986.75 and the Shanghai Composite Index inched down 0.18% to 2,352.72.

Mybank Investment Bank Bhd head of retail research and chief chartist Lee Cheng Hooi in a note to clients on Tuesday said the FBM KLCI dropped 5.61 points to close at 1,597.51 on Monday.

“Its resistance areas of 1,597 and 1,609 may cap market gains, whilst the obvious support areas are located at 1,580 and 1,594,’ he said.

He said despite the US markets’ mixed tone last night, Bursa Malaysia could be in for a low-volume trading day.

“From the 1,310.53 low (Sept 2011), the market has surged past its previous resistance of 1,597.08 to stall at 1,600.33 (On April 3).

“Bearish divergence is ample and investors may liquidate on rallies,” he said.

SAM Engineering was the top gainer in the morning session and rose 41 sen to RM3.60, Hartalega added 16 sen to RM8.12, CSL 14 sen to RM1.62, Far East and Subur Tiasa gained 10 sen each to RM7.60 and RM2.73, Rapid nine sen to RM2.54, Carlsberg eight sen to RM10.90, MBSB and Lafarge Malayan Cement gained seven sen each to RM2.23 and RM7.29, while Golsta was up 6.5 sen to 59.5 sen.

Among the decliners, Dutch Lady fell 46 sen to RM23.70, SMPC fell 25 sen to RM1.08, Nestle down 16 sen to RM55.84, Sarawak Oil Palms lost 13 sen to RM6.81, Iretex 12 sen to RM1, Knusford and Bintulu Port fell 10 sen each to RM1.80 and RM6.90, while MalPac and Ta Ann lost nine sen each to RM1.49 and RM6.60.

Ariantec was the most actively traded counter with 315.47 million shares done. The stock rose 5.5 sen to 17 sen.

Other actives included Metronic, Focus, Ingenuity Solutions, SuperComNet, Naim Indah Corp and JCY.



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Limited gains for KLCI at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): Gains were limited for the FBM KLCI at mid-morning on Wednesday in line with the tepid trade at key after US stocks retreated from near four-year peaks on Tuesday.

At 10.05am, the FBM KLCI edged up 1.32 points to 1,589. Gainers trailed losers by 169 to 213, while 223 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 386.01 million shares valued at RM126.19 million.

Asian shares drifted lower on Wednesday as investors waited for more clues on the state of the U.S. economy, after hopes for further stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve strengthened risk appetite and lifted prices the previous session, according to Reuters.

At the regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.95% to 10,158.20, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index losr 0.43% to 20,965.60, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.56% to 2,333.96, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.23% to 2,035.05, singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 0.38% to 3,007.52 and Taiwan’s taiex shed 0.09% to 8,022.45.

BIMB Securities Research in a note March 28 said that after a triple digit jump on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 44 points to a tad below the 13,200 support mark as traders took stock of recent developments and stay sidelined waiting for fresh catalysts.

Meanwhile, European bourses closed mostly lower reacting to the slight decline in the US consumer confidence level, it said.

The research house said that it was a good day for Asian markets as most ended up higher taking cue from the uptrend on Wall Street.

Locally, the FBM KLCI rebounded 5 points to close just below the resistance of 1,590, it said.

“We believe the benchmark index is all set to break its all time high of 1,597 soon and thereafter test the strong psychological level of 1,600.

“We strongly believe the uptrend remains intact as foreign participation again was a positive RM324 million yesterday amounting to almost RM4.5 billion year-to-date. Meanwhile, the date of GE13 is still highly speculative with the latest one touted at September,” it said.

On Bursa Malaysia, Dutch Lady rose 60 sen to RM32.60, Takaful added 11 sen to RM3.01, Petronas Gas and PPB rose eights en each to RM16.98 and RM16.48, Bintulu Port up seven sen to RM6.90, while TDM, Kulim, Sin Heng Chan and BIMB rose six sen each to RM4.83, RM4.20, RM1.06 and RM2.36 respectively.

SuperComnet was the most actively traded counter with 49 million shares done. The stock fell 12.5 sen to 23.5 sen.

Other actives included Utopia, Metronic, Silver Bird, Ariantec and Maxtral.

Decliners included United PLANTATION []s, Supercomnet, MISC, Batu Kawan, Parskson, Ivory, Hing yap, Top Glove, MSM and AIC.



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KLCI closes higher, but stays shy of 1,590-level

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): the FBM KLCI recovered some lost ground and closed higher on Tuesday, in line with the overall improved sentiment at key regional markets.

However, the index stayed shy of breaching the 1,590-level for long.

The FBM KLCI was up 5.12 points to close at 15,88.10, lifted by gains at select blue chips. The index had earlier risen to its intra-day high of ,591.03.

Gainers led losers by 389 to 381, while 337 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.94 billion shares valued at RM1.66 billion.

Asian stocks rebounded, with Japan's Nikkei hitting a one-year high, and the dollar struggled on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was still needed to reduce unemployment, according to Reuters

Europe's major equity markets were also poised for gains, with Euro STOXX 50 index futures opening up 0.7 percent, while financial spreadbetters called London's FTSE to start trading 0.2-0.3 percent higher, it said.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.69% to 21,017.13, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.36% to 10,255.15, South korea’s Kospi was up 1.02% to 2,039.76, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.78% to 8,029.46 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index…

On Bursa Malaysia, Dutch Lady was the top gainer and rose 60 sen to RM32, F&N added 24 sen to RM18.50, Petronas Dagangan added 22 sen to RM18.70, Malayan Flour Mills 21 sen to RM4.65 and KLK 20 sen to RM24.06.

Aeon Credit, Takaful and HLFG added 18 sen each to RM8.88, RM2.90 and RM12.30 respectively, while Petronas Gas and Genting PLANTATION []s gained 16 sen each to RM16.90 and RM9.41.

Metronic was the most actively traded counter with 280.1 million shares done. The counter gained four sen to 24.5 sen.

Other actives included Ariantec, Supercomnet, Naim Indah Corp, Focus, Frontken, Oversea Enterprise and TMS.

Among the decliners, Aeon fell 25 sen to RM9.15, Bintulu Port 17 sen to RM6.83, Allianz 12 sen to RM4.70, AirAsia 11 sen to RM3.35, Top Glove 10 sen to RM4.55. P.I.E., TDM, MISC and Sunway fell nine sen each to RM4.81, RM4.77, RM5.29 and RM2.62 respectively.



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Bintulu Port 4Q earnings double to nearly RM60m

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): BINTULU PORT HOLDINGS BHD [] reported a 107% increase in earnings at RM59.94 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM28.87 million a year ago.

It said on Wednesday its profit before taxation of RM43.76 million was 22.1% higher compared to RM35.84 million a year ago. It proposed a final dividend of 7.50 sen a share.

Bintulu Port’s operating revenue increased by 6.2% to RM125.36 million from RM118.07 million a year ago.

“Revenue generated from port services is RM116.60 million with the revenue from the handling of LNG vessel calls and cargo contributing RM90.47 million (72.17%) towards the total operating revenue. Revenue from bulking services contributed RM8.76 million (6.99%) towards the total operating revenue,” it said.

For FY11, its net profit climbed 22.4% to RM170.77 million from RM139.44 million but its revenue fell 4.8% to RM490.13 million from RM514.83 million.

Trading in the shares was suspended from 9am to 10am.



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KLCI dips on mild profit taking, lags regional markets

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): The FBM KLCI fell on Friday, and lagged key regional markets as mild profit taking chipped off some of the previous day’s gains.

The FBM KLCI closed 2.96 points lower at 1,520.90, weighed by losses at select blue chips.

Gainers led losers by 459 to 370, while 292 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.28 billion shares valued at RM1.85 billion.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.31% to 20,501.67, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.39% to 1,964.83 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.75% to 2,916.26, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.09% to 8,841.22.

The China and Taiwan stock markets are closed for the Chinese New Year holidays.

Meanwhile, European shares retreated from a six-month high on Friday, in a mild technical pullback after the previous session's strong rally and with Greek debt talks still firmly in focus, although equities still remain on course for their sixth week of gains, according to Reuters.

On Bursa Malaysia, HLFG lost 36 sen to RM11.90, Genting PLANTATION []s down 15 sen to RM9.50, Warisan, MPI and CIMB fell 11 sen each to RM2.55, RM3.58 and RM6.86 respectively, while Sunchirin, NCB, Metrod and Yinson lost 10 sen each to RM1.65, RM3.90, RM1.95 and RM1.98 respectively.

Among the gainers, Bintulu Port added 32 sen to RM7, Boxpak up 28 sen to RM2.64, IJM Corp 25 sen to RM5.70, Lysaght 23 sen to RM1.90, Eng Kah 22 sen to RM3.50, Hartalega, DRB-Hicom and Maybulk gained 21 sen each to RM6.90, RM2.71 and RM2.65, while Southern Acids added 19 sen to RM2.40.

The actives included TMS, Compugates, DRB-Hicom, Karyon, DBE Gurney and Maybulk.



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KLCI closes higher but struggles to breach 1,470-level

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): The FBM KLCI could not sustain much of its gains on Friday and struggled to breach the 1,470-point level on some mild profit taking ahead of the weekend.

The FBM KLCI edged up 2.11 points to close at 1,466.22. The index had earlier risen to its intra-day high of

Gainers led losers by 426 to 345, while 313 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.79 billion shares valued at RM1.33 billion.

World stocks rose on Friday after upbeat U.S. data and corporate results, while concerns over the European banking sector and nervousness about potential ratings downgrades in European sovereign debt underpinned German government bonds, according to Reuters.

Surprising resilience in the U.S. economy and corporate sector are underpinning investor appetite for risky assets into the year end, although trading is thinning out ahead of a holiday season, it said.

At the regional markets, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.02% to 2,224.84, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 1.43% to 18,285.39, South Korea’s Kospi up 1.15% to 1,839.96, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.30% to 6,785.09, Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.29% to 8,401.72 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.91% to 2,659.22.

On Bursa Malaysia, PPB added 36 sen to RM16.76, KrisAssets was up 26 sen to RM5.88, Public Bank 22 sen to RM13.02, LPI Capital 20 sen to RM13.40, Warisan 19 sen to RM2.79, Orient and BHIC 17 sen each to RM5.31 and RM3.15, Tasek 16 sen to RM7.86 and Bintulu Port up 15 sen to RM6.85.

Among the losers, UMW fell 34 sen to RM6.50, Carlsberg down 33 sen to RM8.66, Southern Acids and Malayan Flour Mills lost 17 sen each to RM2.15 and RM7.50, while GAB, IOI Corp, Tan Chong and Panasonic lost 10 sen each to RM13.40, RM5.05, RM4.04 and RM19.94 respectively.

Meanwhile, the actives included Wijaya, Kurnia Asia, Proton, JCY, Envair, Astral Supreme, Dialog and Sanichi.



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KLCI edges up but Asian markets mired in red

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): The FBM KLCI bucked the trend and edged up to close marginally higher on Thursday, but key regional markets mostly extended their losses amid fears that Europe's debt crisis continues to worsen.

But European markets opened slightly higher and bounced off a two-week closing low, lifted by some mild bargain hunting.

The FBM KLCI rose 0.99 point to close at 1,464.11.

Gainers trailed losers by 346 to 380, while 314 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.56 billion shares valued at RM1.25 billion.

At the regional markets, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.14% to 2,180.90, Taiwan’s Taiex fell 2.28% to 6,764.59, South Korea’s Kospi was down 2.08% to 1,819.11, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.78% to 18,026.84, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 8,377.37 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 1.39% to 2,635.25.

On Bursa Malaysia, QSR and KFCH were in focus on Johor Corporation’s plans to privatise the two companies. QSR rose 44 sen to RM6.44 while KFCH was up 39 sen to RM3.80.

Other gainers included Proton that rose 38 sen to RM4.55, UMW 34 sen to RM6.84, KrisAssets and GAB 32 sen each to RM5.62 and RM13.50, Kulim 28 sen to RM3.97, Jaya Tiasa 18 sen to RM6.91 and APM Automotive 17 sen to RM4.39.

Among the decliners, Dutch Lady lost RM1.30 to RM24.58, KLK 48 sen to RM22.12, Nestle 46 sen to RM56.02, Aeon 25 sen to RM7.15, Batu Kawan 20 sen to RM17.26, Bintulu Port 17 sen to RM6.70, MPI 16 sen to RM2.70, Hong Leong Industries 15 sen to RM3.95 while Hartalega was down 14 sen to RM5.61.

Meanwhile, the actives included JCY, Sanichi, QSR, KFC, Flonic and Proton.



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Bintulu Port posts lower Q3 pre-tax profit

Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd has posted a decrease in pre-tax profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 to RM42.546 million from RM48.650 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Its revenue rose to RM117.371 million from RM111.471 million.

For the first nine months, its pre-tax profit fell to RM137.811 million from RM147.447 million in the same period last year although revenue rose to RM358.587 million from RM336.888 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, it said revenue generated from port services in the third quarter was RM109.70 million with the revenue from the handling of liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel calls and cargo contributing RM82.60 million towards the total operating revenue. Revenue from bulking services contributed RM7.67 million, it added.

In 2011, the handling of LNG vessel calls and cargoes will still be Bintulu Port's most important revenue contributor. The bulking operation is also expected to contribute positively towards the revenue growth.

Other cargoes that are expected to contribute positively towards revenue are bulk fertiliser, palm oil, palm kernel and alumina.

Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd) has obtained an approval from the Ministry of Finance on the tax incentive for Approved Service Project (ASP), in the form of Investment Allowance under Schedule 7B of the Income Tax Act 1967, for the port’s expansion and development projects.

The estimated ASP incentive available from Year 2008 to Year 2011 is RM41.9 million and the estimated tax credit which can be utilised for set-off in the year 2011 is RM30.1 million, it said.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Bintulu Port expects the performance of the group for the year 2011 to remain satisfactory. -- Bernama



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