Hovid up 7%, earnings closely watched

KUALA LUMPUR (April 19) : HOVID BHD [] shares rose as much as 7% on Thursday morning, possibly, in anticipation that the pharmaceutical products manufacturer will announce better quarterly earnings next month.

The stock climbed 1.5 sen to 23.5 sen before trading lower at 23 sen at 10.26am with some three million shares done.

Bursa Malaysia had on January 17 this year removed Hovid from the Practice Note 17 (PN17) list after the regulator granted the firm a waiver from complying with the requirement to submit a regularisation plan to the authorities.

The waiver was granted after taking into account Hovid’s financial track record and the company’s distribution of its shares in loss-making unit CAROTECH BHD []. Hovid’s net profit rose more than seven fold to RM10.76 million in the second quarter ended December 31, 2011 from RM1.47 million a year earlier.



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KLCI stays above 1,590-level at mid-day break

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): the FBM KLCI stayed above the 1,590-point level at the mid-day break on Friday, lifted by blue chips including Maybank, CIMB, Petronas gas and KLK.

Meanwhile, Asian shares steadied on Friday as the region's benchmark indices marked their best first quarter in over 20 years and investors awaited a meeting on a possible euro zone firewall and Chinese data that may dictate market trends in coming months.

The FBM KLCI rose 6.44 points to 1,591.88 at the mid-day break.

Gainers trailed losers by 268 to 317, while 354 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 563.26 million shares valued at RM612.26 million.

The ringgit was unchanged at 3.0683 versus the US dollar; crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery fell RM26 per tonne to RM3,430, crudd oil added 62 cents per barrel top US$103.40 while godl shed 45 cents an ounce to US$1660.13.

On Bursa Malaysia, KLK added 42 sen to RM24.56, Takaful up 25 sen to RM3.37, Carlsberg 18 sen to RM10.38, Batu Kawan 14 sen to RM18.74, SEGi 11 sen to RM1.83, Petronas Gss 10 sen to RM16.84, Maybank nine sen to RM8.89, CIMB seven sen to RM7.67 and Ibraco eight sen to RM1.29.

Carotech was the most actively traded counter with 812.94 million shares done. The stiock fell 2.5 sen to 2.5 sen.

Other actives included Metronic, Focus, Key West, Tiger Synergy, SuperComnet, Ariantec, IFCA MSC and CIMB.

Decliners included Dutch Lady, genting, PPB, Shangri-La, TDM, Delloyd, Rapid, HELP, Kluang and Teo Seng.



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KLCI breaches 1,590-level at mid-morning

KUALA LUMPUR (March30): the FBM KLCI trended higher at mid-morning on the final trading day of the first quarter of 2012, while regional markets drifted marginally lower on fears of global growth slowdown.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 4.89 points to 1,590.33, lifted by select blue chips including KLK and Maybank.

Gainers led losers by 186 to 189, while 235 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 252.32 million shares valued at RM154.22 million.

Meanwhile, Asian shares steadied on Friday as investors eyed key events that could dictate market trends in coming months and as the first quarter drew to a close after a stellar performance from equities, according to Reuters.

Still, investor sentiment across asset classes is being undermined by fears of a potential growth slowdown, with European troubles back in focus and concerns about China, the world's second largest economy, it said.

At the regional markets, Japan;s Nikkei 225 shed 0.26% to 10,088.00, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 0.59% to 20,488.40, the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.40% to 2,261.15, Taiwan’s taiex fell 0.24% to 7,853.39, south Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.05% to 2,013.40, and Singapore’s Straits Times index fell 0.50% to 3,009.11.

BIMB Securities Research in a note March 30 said that from it was observing at the moment actual figures have to at least beat forecasts for investors to stay upbeat.

It said this was exactly the scenario Wall Street was facing as investors remain unimpressed despite the lower unemployment claims (but higher than forecast) and a 3% GDP growth for 4Q11.

“For this, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had a mixed session before edging marginally by 20 points to 13,146,” it said.

The research house said European bourses were sold down after S&P cautioned that Greece may have to undergo more restructuring.

“Asian stocks were also broadly lower from weaker European markets but the FBM KLCI was one of the handfuls ended the day on positive territory.

“The index was up 1.7 points to jump just above the immediate resistance of 1,585. We expect market to be lacklustre today amid some downside risks and lack of fresh leads with 1,580 as the immediate support level,” it said.

Among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia at mid-morning, KLK rose 38 sen to RM24.52, BAT 28 sen to RM56.80, Sapuracrest, Maybank, Carlsberg and United PLANTATION []s added eight sen each to RM4.88, RM8.88, RM10.28 and RM24.88 respectively, IOI Corp seven sen to RM5.34, while Cypark and Maxis adde six sen each to RM1.92 and RM6.06.

Carotech was the most actively traded counter with 46 million shares traded. The stock fell three sen to 2 sen.

Other actives included Key West, Winsun, SuperComnet, KBB, Trinity, IFCA MSC, Ariantec and TMS.

Decliners at mid-morning included GAB, Genting, Petronas Dagangan, PPB, Hong Leong Bank, HELP, Kluang, UMW, Harrisons and Tradewinds Plantations.



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Carotech shares down 60% ahead of trading suspension

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30) : CAROTECH BHD [] shares fell 60% on Friday morning following updates that trading of the stock will be suspended beginning next Friday. The firm, which extracts and sells palm oil-based phytonutrients, failed to submit its regularisation plan to Bursa Malaysia within the stipulated time frame.

Shares of Carotech fell three sen to two sen with some 32 million units done, making the stock the most active across the local bourse.

The stock market regulator had earlier rejected Carotech’s application for a time extension to submit its regularisation plan. Carotech said it will appeal against the decision.



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KLCI edges higher in early trade

KUALA LIMPUR (March 30): The FBM KLCI trended higher in early trade on Friday, lifted by select blue chips including Petronas-linked stocks and index-linked PLANTATION [] counters.

At 9.05am, The FBM KLCI was up 4.17 points to 1,589.61.

Gainers led losers by 96 to 49, while 115 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 67.54 million share valued at RM23.14 million.

Among the gainers, BAT rose 28 sen to RM56.80, SapuraCrest 11 sen to RM4.91, Tradewinds nine sen to RM9.72, IOI Corp and PPB eight sen each to RM5.35 and RM16.88, Petronas gas six sen to RM16.80, while Petronas Chemicals, MMCCOrp, Maxis and Keck Seng added five sen each to RM6.73, RM2.85, RM6.05 and RM4.10 respectively.

Decliners included Dutch Lady, Utusan Malaysia, Genting, MMHE, Ewei, AFG, Astino, petronas Dagangan and Carotech.

Carotech was the most actively traded counter with 10.43 million shares done. The stosk fell two sen to 3 sen.

Other actives included Trinity, TMS, Ariantec, IFCA MSC, Caley, Nextnation and Winsun.



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Hovid to be uplifted from PN17 status on Tuesday

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): Bursa Malaysia Securities has lifted HOVID BHD [] from the Practice Note 17 status with effect from Tuesday.

It said on Monday that Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd had considered the profitability and growth of the Hovid group’s pharmaceutical segment for the past seven financial years up to June 30, 2011 as well as the latest financial quarter for the period ended Sept 30, 2011.

Bursa Securities had also taken into account that Hovid had completed the distribution of a portion of its shareholdings in CAROTECH BHD [] via dividend in specie on Dec 23, 2011. Another factor was that Hovid no longer triggered any of the criteria of PN17.

After considering the factors, Bursa Securities decided to grant Hovid a waiver from complying with paragraph 8.04(3) of the Main Market Listing Requirements which required a PN17 company to submit a regularisation plan to the relevant authority to regularise its condition.

“With the waiver being granted, Bursa Securities has informed that the company will be uplifted from its PN17 status effective from 9am on Jan 17, 2012,” it said.



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Carotech posts Q1 pre-tax loss

Carotech Bhd, an ACE Market listed company, suffered pre-tax loss of RM16.233 million in its first quarter ended Sept 30, 2011, compared to a pre-tax profit of RM2.887 million in the same
period, last year. Revenue for the three-months, however, rose to RM12.988 million from RM10.420 million previously.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, the company said the heavy loss was mainly due to production costs incurred to further process existing work-in-progress stocks, into the required concentration for sales.

"The board of directors anticipates the coming financial year to be challenging, with the debt restructuring exercise pending, and the continued poor economic sentiment globally," the company said. -- Bernama



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