KLCI closes slightly higher on late buying, broader market cautious

KUALA LUMPUR (March): Late buying of selected index-linked stocks pushed the FBM KLCI, which as in the red all Tuesday, back into positive territory, with GENTING BHD [] emerging as the bigger index mover.

The FBM KLCI closed 0.69 of a point higher to 1,589.91. Turnover was 1.29 billion shares valued at RM1.73 billion. The broader market reflected the cautious sentiment, with 519 decliners to 257 advancers while 315 stocks were unchanged.

Key regional markets posted losses between 0.63% and 2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fared the worst, down 2.16% to 20,806.20, Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 2% to 2,932.01, Shanghai Composite Index 1.41% to 2,410.45, Taiwan’s Taiex 0.83% to 7,937.97 while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.78% to 2,000.36.

European shares extended losses in morning trade on Tuesday on fresh concerns about economic growth in Europe and uncertainties regarding a bond swap deal between Greece and its private creditors.

Britain's FTSE 100 extended its losing streak into a third session on Tuesday, as concern about the health of the global economy hit heavyweight oils and miners, pushing the index towards the bottom of its recent range and darkening the technical outlook, Reuters reported.

At Bursa Malaysia, Genting rose 16 sen to RM10.92, pushing the KLCI up by 1.4 points while Tenaga added eight sen to RM5.25 and Petronas Chemicals three sen to RM6.92.

There was some nibbling on banking stocks, with Maybank and Public Bank up two sen each to RM8.79 and RM13.78, Hong Leong Bank 10 sen to RM12.40 and AMMB three sen to RM6.30.

Dutch Lady rose the most, adding 40 sen to RM29.90 with 6,100 shares done. Genting PLANTATION []s rose 25 sen to RM9.49 and Petronas Dagangan 18 sen to RM18.46.

CI Holdings added 13 sen to RM1.48 after the company announced its capital repayment of 50 sen per ordinary share would go ex on March 16.

Winsun was the most active with 47.67 million shares done, down two sen to 16.5 sen.

CIMB declined six sen to RM7.42, dragging the KLCI down 1.06 points. Tenaga shed seven sen to RM6.24 while BAT lost 32 sen to RM52.52 and KLK 12 sen to RM23.28.



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Investors take profit, KLCI down more than 8 pts

KUALA LUMPUR : The FBM KLCI fell in the morning session on Tuesday as investors locked in profits from a liquidity driven rally which saw the 30-stock index nearing the all-time high of 1,597 in July 2011.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 0.52% or 8.34 points to 1,580.88, dragged down mainly by telecommunication and banking stocks. The KLCI had briefly touched 1,594.72 on Monday. Turnover was 598 million shares worth RM621 million. Losers beat gainers 488 to 155 while 313 counters were unchanged.

Key regional markets fell with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 1.5% to 20,947.9 and Australia’s S&P / ASX 200 which was down 1.22% to 4,210.8. South Korea’s Kospi 1.17% lower at 1992.53 while Singapore’s Straits Times lost 1.12% to 2,958.23.

At Bursa Malaysia, top gainers include Asia File which added 15 sen to RM3.90, C.I. HOLDINGS BHD [] 14 sen to RM1.49 while CHIN TECK PLANTATION []S BHD [] was up 10 sen to RM9.10.

Decliners included BAT, which lost 48 sen to RM52.36, PPB 30 sen to RM16.64 while Nestle was down 20 sen to RM55.70.

Most active was China Stationery Ltd which traded unchanged at RM1.08 with some 34 million shares done.

OSK Research director Chris Eng said the new target for the KLCI was 1,620 towards the end of this year. This was derived from the average 2012 and 2013 fair values at 1,466 and 1,775 respectively.

“While we remain unconvinced of the current rally’s fundamentals and still see a risk of market correction, news flow with regards to large infrastructure investments should help the KLCI post a stronger 2H2012,” Eng said.



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CI Holdings top gainer in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR (March 6): Shares of CI Holdings Bhd advanced in early trade on Tuesday after the company announced its capital repayment of 50 sen per ordinary share would go ex on March 16.

At 9.06am, it was up 13 sen to RM1.48. There were 1.18 million shares done.

The FBM KLCI slipped 0.46 of a point to 1,588.76. There were 48.66 million shares valued at RM27.29 million. There were 84 gainers, 67 losers and 148 stocks unchanged.

CI Holdings said on Monday the capital repayment of 50 sen per share was pursuant to the reduction of the issued and paid-up share capital under Section 64 of the Companies Act, 1965.



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Stocks to watch: Tenaga, Affin, Ivory and TMS

KUALA LUMPUR (March 6): Stocks could retreat on Tuesday as investors take profit after the recent run-up in selected blue chips -- which pushed the FBM KLCI near the all-time high of1,594 -- as sentiment could take a dent following the weaker regional markets and decline on Wall Street.

Stocks on Bursa Malaysia staged a strong performance in February, underpinned by foreign institutional funds, who were net buyers of Malaysian equities. Foreign investors bought RM9.2 billion and sold RM7.9 billion worth of shares in the local market. This translated into a net purchase of RM1.3 billion.

However, local institutional investors were net sellers during the month. They bought RM14.2 billion of equities and sold RM14.7 billion, resulting in a net sale of RM500 million.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell on Monday for the second straight session and the third in the last four trading days, led lower by basic materials shares after China trimmed its growth target for 2012.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 14.76 points, or 0.11 percent, to 12,962.81 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 5.30 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,364.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 25.71 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 2,950.48.

At Bursa Malaysia, mong the stocks to watch are TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [] (TNB), AFFIN HOLDINGS BHD [], Ivory PROPERTIES [] Group Bhd, THE MEDIA SHOPPE BHD [] (TMS), ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD [] and C.I. HOLDINGS BHD [].

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has reiterated that it will not continue selling subsidised gas to TNB for electricity generation this year.

Petronas currently provides subsidies of up to RM20 billion per year to the power industry in the form of natural gas at rates below market prices. It had paid RM108.5 billion in subsidies for TNB since 1997, including RM3.9 billion for the three quarters ended Dec 31, 2011.

Affin expects its plan to set up Islamic banking operations in China to materialise in the second half (2H) of this year. It is also revisiting its plan to acquire an 80% stake in an Islamic bank in Indonesia, P.T. Bank Ina Perdana.

Ivory Properties plans to roll out residential and commercial projects on Penang island with a total gross development value of RM1.4 billion this year. It is targeting some RM800 million of sales in 2012, including on-going projects.

The Media Shoppe Bhd, whose shares were actively traded, said it had declined to take part in the project involving the automatic fare collection system for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s commuter stations.

The company said it was not feasible for it to undertake the project which was awarded by Hopetech Sdn Bhd mainly “due to funding is not available within the required time frame of delivery”.

Malaysian Rating Corporation (MARC) has revised the outlook on Alam Maritim Resources Bhd’s Islamic notes from stable to negative following the company’s weaker credit profile.

The ratings agency had affirmed its ratings at AA-IS and MARC-1ID/AA-ID on Alam Maritim’s RM500 million Sukuk Ijarah medium term notes and RM100 million Murabahah commercial papers/Murabahah medium term notes programmes respectively.

MARC said the revised outlook reflected the pressure on Alam Maritim's credit profile arising from significantly weaker earnings and cash flow generation in 2010 and 2011.

In CI Holdings Bhd, the company said its capital repayment of 50 sen per ordinary share would go ex on March 16.



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Tenaga, Sime, 1Malaysia Devt, CI Holdings bid for Prai power project

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [], Sime Darby Energy Bhd, 1Malaysia Development Bhd and CI Holdings Bhd are among the 33 companies which had submitted their pre-qualification statement for the Prai combined cycle gas turbine power project.

According to the Energy Commission, it had on Feb 29 received pre-qualification statements from 33 out of 38 participants who purchased the RFQ document. The 33 participants comprised of the 18 consortia and sole bidders.

The EC said all submissions would have to go through an evaluation process and the short-listed bidders would be announced after March 19.

1Malaysia Development Bhd and Hyundai Engineering & CONSTRUCTION [] Co Ltd
CI Holdings Berhad, Teknologi Tenaga Perlis Consortium and Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd
Drayclass (M) Sdn Bhd and Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co Ltd
First Northeast Electric Power Engineering Co ( NEPC ), Ranhill Power Sdn Bhd, RAMUNIA HOLDINGS BHD [] and Maser (M) Sdn Bhd
International Company for Water and Power Projects (ACWA)
Jimah Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd
KNM Process System Sdn Bhd and Lanco Infratech Limited
Majulia Sdn Bhd and Country Earth Sdn Bhd
Malakoff Corporation Berhad, Petronas Power Sdn Bhd and Mitsubishi Corporation
Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd
Mitsui & Co. Limited and Amcorp Power Sdn Bhd
Mudajaya Corporation Berhad and Sinohydro Corporation Limited
N.U.R Power Sdn Bhd and Samsung C & T Corporation
Pendekar Power Sdn Bhd
Sime Darby Energy Sdn Bhd
SRC International Sdn Bhd
Tenaga Nasional Berhad
YTL Power International Berhad and Marubeni Corporation



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Blue chips cautious in early trade, eyes on Greece again

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Blue chips on Bursa Malaysia slipped in early trade on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of a 130 billion ero rescue for Greece.

Reuters reported that Euro zone finance ministers were expected to approve the rescue plan with strict conditions after months of uncertainty that has shaken the currency bloc, although work remained to be done to make the numbers add up.

At 9.30am, the FBM KLCI was down 1.16 points to 1,559.41. Turnover was 282.20 million shares valued at RM133.63 million. However, gainers led losers 174 to 161 while 238 stocks were unchanged.

Among the decliners were Esso, down 12 sen to RM3.64 after its earnings fell. CI Holdings lost seven sen to Rm1.26, Top Glove six sen to RM4.86, KLK also six sen to RM24.08 and Bursa Malaysia five sen to RM7.35.

Among the lower liners SPB lost 10 sen to RM3.61, Jobstreet five sen to RM2.16 and KKB four sen to RM1.71.



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CI Hldgs surges as Q2 net jumps

CI Holdings Bhd, a manufacturer of building and construction-related products, surged 9.6 per cent to RM1.37, bound for its highest close since November 23.

Its second- quarter net income jumped to RM650.4 million from RM11.3 million a year earlier after making a RM710.9 million gain from selling a beverages business, according to a stock-exchange filing. - Bloomberg



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CI Holdings climbs on dividend plan

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): Shares of CI Holdings Bhd climbed in mid-morning on Friday after it declared a dividend of RM4.60 per share totaling RM653.20 million.

At 10.32am, CIH was up 11 sen to RM1.36 with 6.45 million shares done.

The FBM KLCI rose 8.03 points to 1,558.52. Turnover was 686.25 million shares valued at RM474.41 million. There were 382 gainers, 150 losers and 310 stocks unchanged.

CI Holdings announced net profit of RM650.39 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM11.17 million a year ago, boosted by the disposal of its Permanis Group to Asahi for RM820.0 million cash.

Its revenue declined slightly to RM11.35 million from RM11.96 million a year ago due to a slowdown in the CONSTRUCTION [] sector.

The improvement in profit before tax was due largely to income received from the disposal of Permanis of RM688.43 million.



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Stocks to watch: Uzma, Tradewinds Plantations, Hibiscus, Tasek

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): The pullback on Bursa Malaysia and key regional markets could see investors remaining on the sidelines until and unless the bailout for Greece is implemented and completed.

The warning by Moody’s Investors Service’s announcement threatening to lower the ratings of 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations also unnerved the markets.

On Thursday, the FBM KLCI fell 10.81 points or 0.69% to 1,550.49, the lowest since Feb 2. Turnover was 2.19 billion shares valued at RM1.97 billion.

It should be noted the weakening in the broader market where declining counters beat advancers 668 to 239, the largest margin in recent days, and putting a halt in the recent rally.

However, despite the cloud of uncertainty, there were several positive corporate developments on the local front which could lure some mild buying interest.

Among the stocks to watch are UZMA BHD [], Tradewinds PLANTATION []s Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, TASEK CORPORATION BHD [], CI Holdings Bhd and Maxis Bhd.

Uzma secured a RM350 million contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide well testing equipment and services for Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s drilling projects in the west region. The contract is for a period of five years effective from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2017.

Tradewinds Plantations’ indirect unit Mardec International Sdn Bhd is selling its 45% stake in R1 International Pte Ltd for US$25.86 million.

R1’s core activities are trading of natural rubber, latex concentrate and synthetic rubber. R1 is a global rubber trading company specialising in rubber commodity which operates in Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, China and India.

Hibiscus Petroleum has received the Securities Commission’s approval for its qualifying acquisition of a 35% stake in Lime Petroleum Plc for US$55 million.

Tasek's earnings fell 57.1% to RM33.44 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM78.00 million a year ago, as a result of higher production costs.

Despite the lower earnings, it declared dividends totaling 86%. They comprised of a special ordinary dividend of 50% less income tax of 25%; preference dividend of 6% single tier and final ordinary dividend of 30% single tier.

Revenue rose 25.11% to RM167.24 million from RM133.67 million. Earnings per share were 26.98 sen compared to 48.88 sen.

CI Holdings Bhd posted net profit of RM650.39 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM11.17 million a year ago, boosted by the disposal of its Permanis Group to Asahi for RM820.0 million cash.

Its revenue declined slightly to RM11.35 million from RM11.96 million a year ago due to a slowdown in the CONSTRUCTION [] sector. The improvement in profit before tax was due largely to income received from the disposal of Permanis of RM688.43 million. It declared a dividend of RM4.60 per share totaling RM653.20 million.

Maxis Bhd has proposed to undertake a RM2.45 billion unrated Sukuk Musharakah programme with a 10-year maturity. Of the proceeds, RM1.45 billion would be used for refinancing of existing loans and RM1.0 billion for the capital expenditure and/or working capital and/or general funding requirements.



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CI Holdings reports earnings of RM650.39m for 2Q

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): CI Holdings Bhd posted net profit of RM650.39 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM11.17 million a year ago, boosted by the disposal of its Permanis Group to Asahi for RM820.0 million cash.

It said on Thursday that its revenue declined slightly to RM11.35 million from RM11.96 million a year ago due to a slowdown in the CONSTRUCTION [] sector.

“The improvement in profit before tax can be attributed largely to income received from the investment of the proceeds of disposal and gain on the disposal group of RM688.43 million,” it said.

CI Holdings said its earnings per share were 458.02 sen compared with 7.87 sen. It declared a dividend of RM4.60 per share totaling RM653.20 million.

For the first half, its earnings were at RM657.74 million compared with RM22.84 million in the previous corresponding period while revenue slipped 10.9% to RM20.43 million from RM22.93 million.



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DBE Gurney continues active streak, up in early trade

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): DBE Gurney Resources Bhd continued to be actively traded on Wednesday after the company last week had confirmed that it was in talks with a shareholder of CI Holding Bhd which includes a private placement exercise.

At 9.15am, DBE Gurney was the most actively traded counter with 11.3 million shares done. It rose half a sen to 13 sen.

Meanwhile, its warrants traded unchanged at 7 sen with 2.51 million units done.

The poultry-based company, in its reply to a Bursa Malaysia Securities query on Thursday, said it had plans for a private placement to raise funds for its working capital requirement.

However, DBE said the talks with the CI Holdings shareholders was “at preliminary stage”.

“As such, the pricing for the proposed private placement exercise have not been finalised yet,” it said.



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KL shares extend gains at midmorning

Shares on Bursa Malaysia extended their gains at mid-morning session today amid a positive external sentiment, dealers said.

At 10.50am, the underlying FBM KLCI gained 4.06 points to 1,520.87 after opening 1.33 points higher at 1,518.14.

Risk sentiment improved following overnight gains on Wall Street as encouraging earnings from US banks and a drop in jobless claims boosted confidence.

Sentiment was also boosted by the Spanish and French bond auctions that drew solid demand, calming fears about Europe's ability to fund its debt, Hong Leong Investment Bank said.

Market breadth was positive with gainers thumping losers by 317 to 182. Volume amounted to 668.71 million valued at RM355.66 million.

The Finance Index advanced 54.37 points to 13,468.06, Plantation Index jumped 41.67 points to 8,547.38 and the Industrial Index rose 2.63 points to 2,776.42.The FBM Emas increased 32.55 points to 10,512.41, the FBM Mid 70 perked 47.60 points to 11,874.49 and the FBM Ace climbed 34.06 points to 4,371.32.

DBE Gurney was among the actives after it confirmed that it was in talks with a shareholder of CI Holding Bhd which included a private placement exercise. It declined one sen to 12.5 sen with 84.8 million shares traded. Media Shoppe gained 2.5 sen to 12.5 sen while DBE Gurney-Warrants were unchanged at 7.5 sen.

Among heavyweights, Maybank increased five sen to RM8.25 while Sime Darby shed one sen to RM9.09 and Petronas Chemicals slipped two sen to RM6.66. -- BERNAMA



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DBE Gurney confirms early talks with CI Holdings

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19): DBE Gurney Resources Bhd has confirmed that it is in talks with a shareholder of CI Holding Bhd which includes a private placement exercise.

The poultry-based company, in its reply to a Bursa Malaysia Securities query, said it had plans for a private placement to raise funds for its working capital requirement.

However, DBE said the talks with the CI Holdings shareholders was “at preliminary stage”.

“As such, the pricing for the proposed private placement exercise have not been finalised yet,” it said.



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CI Holdings on the prowl for new businesses

KUALA LUMPUR: CI Holdings Bhd (CIH) is on the prowl for new businesses, following the completion of the sale of its entire equity interest in food and beverage arm Permanis Sdn Bhd to Japanese Asahi Group Holdings Ltd for RM820 million last year.

The Main Market-listed company is in talks with many parties for potential business ventures, but will not rush in or limit itself to specific sectors, said managing director Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

“We are looking at all possible businesses,” he told reporters after an EGM here yesterday.

“Basically, we don’t limit ourselves to any industry except that we are not interested in oil and gas, and property as I don’t have experience in these two sectors.”

One of the main criteria for possible business ventures is that CIH is more interested in companies it can have full control of so it can execute its
business plans smoothly, Johari said.

“But nothing is concrete yet. That is the reason why I decided to give back the 50 sen to shareholders because I don’t think we should keep that much cash in the company,” he said.
“And as when we identify a business, and we need more capital, we will talk to shareholders and try to get the capital from them if the business we intend to acquire requires sizeable capital,” he said.

Shareholders yesterday approved CIH’s proposed capital repayment of RM71 million on the basis of 50 sen for each share held via a reduction of the issued and paid-up share capital.

In total, the company is paying some RM724.2 million or RM5.10 via a special dividend and capital repayment following its disposal of Permanis to Asahi for RM820 million. As at Sept 30, 2011, CIH had RM11.35 million net cash.

The disposal of Permanis left the company with tap and sanitary ware businesses. Johari said CIH is also looking at potential business acquisitions that can expand the tap and sanitary ware businesses further.

CIH’s net profit for 1QFY12 ended Sept 30 fell 33% to RM7.34 million from RM11.67 million a year earlier.

The company’s revenue for the quarter in review was RM9.08 million, compared with RM10.98 million a year earlier. Earnings per share stood at 5.17 sen against 8.22 sen a year ago.

Decreases in revenue and profit were mainly due to the delayed completion of various projects, attributable to factors such as softening demand due to uncertainty in global economic conditions and Bank Negara Malaysia’s revision of property loan regulations to curb speculation.

“High and increasing cost also caused developers and distributors to exercise caution,” the company said in notes accompanying an announcement to Bursa Malaysia.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 19, 2012.

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C.I.mulls new investment opportunities

C.I. Holdings Bhd is still evaluating new investment opportunities after disposing of Permanis Sdn Bhd, says its managing director Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

"Since after the disposal deal, there is nothing concrete yet, but we are looking at all possible business ventures.

"We do not limit ourselves to any industry except for the property and Oil and Gas sectors because I do not have experience and expertise in these two sectors," he told reporters after the company's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said he is looking into the possibility of turning around companies, even unprofitable ones, as long as he is confident that he can improve the business and create value to the shareholders.

"I am open to any industry, as long as the business can make good money and maximise shareholders' value and it is at the right price," he said.

On the EGM, the shareholders approved the proposed capital repayment of RM71 million to the shareholders of CIH on the basis of RM0.50 for every ordinary share of RM1 each held in the company. -- BERNAMA



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C.I. Holdings exploring options to acquire businesses for expansion

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): C.I Holdings Bhd is exploring the opportunities to acquire businesses that can potentially grow the company further in the future, said its managing director Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.

Johari said the company was in talks with many people at the moment and would not rush and limit itself.

“But we are not looking at oil and gas and property as we don't have the expertise to deal with that businesses," he said after the company's EGM on Wednesday.

Johari added that C.I Holdings was also looking at any potential acquisition within the building material industry that can potential expand its existing tapware and sanitary business further.

“It can be a small company waiting for growth or big ones at the losing concerns.

“But we will only look at those opportunities where we can control the company (controlling stake) so we can grow it easier," he said.



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HDBSVR: Firmer Wall Street to boost Malaysian market sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Hwang DBS Vickers Research said on Wednesday Wall Street was off to a strong start in the New Year when key U.S. equity indices jumped between 1.5% and 1.7% last night.

It said apparently, investors’ confidence was boosted by expectations that the global manufacturing sector would show promising growth this year.

“The positive external vibes could give a lift to our Malaysian bourse today. Its benchmark FBM KLCI will probably recover all the losses suffered yesterday to rise towards the immediate resistance level of 1,530 ahead,” it said.

HDBSVR said stocks that may see action today include: (a) CI Holdings, after a local daily, quoting sources, reported that the company is looking to acquire a new business soon; (b) Bonia, following its acquisition of a German leather goods maker for RM13 million; and (c) Tricubes, which has just been awarded a government contract worth RM6 million.



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KLCI claws back at mid-day on bargain hunting

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): The FBM KLCI clawed back into positive territory at the mid-day break on Thursday, lifted by some bargain hunting activities on blue chip stocks.

Meanwhile, regional markets also most reversed their earlier losses, shaking off the fears sparked by a botched German bond sale that had created worries that the debt crisis was starting to threaten even Berlin.

The FBM KLCI rose 0.39% or 5.65 points to 1,438.82 at the mid-day break, boosted by gains including at CIMB, Sime Darby, Public Bank and Genting.

Gainers overtook losers by 332 to 259, while 239 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 789.37 million shares valued at RM448.56 million.

The ringgit weakened 0.28% to 3.1868 versus the US dollar; crude palm oil futures for the third month delivery fell RM62 per tonne to RM3,099, crude oil rose four cents per barrel to US$96.21 while gold fell 82 cents an ounce to US$1,691.45.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.45% to 17,944.72, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.53% to 1,792.63, Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.41% to 6,834.25, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.28% to 2,401.85 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index edged up 0.18% to 2,681.48.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 pared down some of its losses and fell 1.47% to 8,192.61.

On Bursa Malaysia, CIMB gained nine sen to RM6.77, Sime Darby rose 10 sen to RM8.83, Public Bank and Telekom rose six sen each to RM12.42 and RM4.28, Genting eight sen to RM10.20, Petronas Gas 14 sen to RM13.30 and Tenaga five sen to RM5.42.

Other gainers included Batu Kawan and Proton that rose 44 sen each to RM16.64 and RM3.39, CI Holdings 23.5 sen to 90.5 sen, HLFG 18 sen to RM11.18, KrisAssets 16 sen to RM5.18 while AIC gained 13 sen to RM1.30.

Among the decliners, BAT fell 52 sen to RM46.98, Dutch Lady 30 sen to RM23.30, Panasonic and KLK 10 sen each to RM19.70 and RM21.28, KNM nine sen to RM1.03, while Parkson and MISC lost seven sen each to RM5.58 and RM6.13.

Meanwhile, the actives included MBF Holdings warrants, Compugates, Sumatec, KNM, Karambunai, DPS Resources and JCY.



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News in brief

Selvarajah still Permanis CEO
KUALA LUMPUR: Erwin Selvarajah is still CEO of beverage-maker Permanis Sdn Bhd that has just been sold to Japan’s Asahi Group, CI Holdings Bhd (CIH) said in a statement yesterday to clarify an earlier announcement.

On Nov 11, CIH announced 41-year-old Selvarajah’s resignation as its CEO, following the change in Permanis’ ownership.

Formerly wholly owned by CIH, Permanis — the maker of beverages like Pepsi, Gatorade and Tropicana in Malaysia — is sold to Asahi for RM820 million, of which 88% or RM724.2 million will be distributed to CIH shareholders.

Selvarajah has been Permanis’ CEO since 1999, and had only been CIH’s CEO for 15 months from Aug 25 last year. Selvarajah has a 2.99% stake in CIH.


Xingquan locks in RM333m sales
KUALA LUMPUR: China-based Xingquan International Sports Holdings Ltd locked in 670 million yuan (RM333 million) in sales of its Gertop brand of shoes, apparels and accessories at its recent Spring/Summer 2012 sales fair in Quanzhou, Fujian province.

That’s up 10.7% from that booked at the same event last year, it said in a statement yesterday. The orders would boost the top line for FY ending June 30, 2012, it said.

Xingquan is slated to release results for 1Q ended Sept 30, 2011 next week. Its FY11 audited net profit was 216.6 million yuan on the back of 1.5 billion yuan in sales.


Esthetics prices rights at 8.7% premium
KUALA LUMPUR: Esthetics International Group Bhd has priced its warrant-sweetened two-for-five rights issue of 52.8 million shares at 50 sen apiece, a 8.7% premium to its five-day volume weighted market price of 46 sen.

Entitlement dates for the rights that comes with a similar number of warrants, exercisable at 50 sen each, will be determined at a later date.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 17, 2011.



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CI Holdings’ numbers sour on higher costs

CI Holdings Bhd (Nov 16, RM5.23)
Downgrade to neutral at RM5.28 with revised fair value of RM5.59 (from RM5.66): CIH’s 1QFY12 net profit (Permanis Sdn Bhd and DOE Industries Sdn Bhd) sank 37% to RM7.3 million year-on-year (y-o-y). When annualised, this is below our previous full-year forecast (disposal not factored in) of RM41.3 million. The weaker-than-expected results were due to: (i) the increase in sugar price after the subsidy on sugar was removed in January 2011; (ii) higher finance costs due to additional financing for new assets; and (iii) delays in completion of various developers’ projects amid softening demand owing to uncertain global economic conditions and the tightening of property loan regulations to curb speculation. By operation division, continuing operations (DOE + CIH) sales slipped 17.3% and bottom line slipped into a net loss while Permanis’ top line was higher by 7.4% but bottom line was down 33%. DOE sales were impacted by delays in completion of property development projects while Permanis sales got a boost from the Hari Raya Aidilfitri promotion campaign.

Permanis’ gross profit margin dipped two percentage points (pps) y-o-y to 38.1%, largely due to the withdrawal of the sugar subsidy, while DOE’s gross profit margin improved marginally by 0.4 pps to 26.4%. However, Permanis’ operating profit shrank by a larger 3.2% y-o-y to 7.5% on higher operating expenses and lower operating income in addition to higher cost of sales, whereas DOE’s margin dipped 7.6 pps to 2.6% mainly due to the recognition of a foreign exchange gain in the previous year. DOE’s lower profit was also due to the fact that expenses at the holding company level were solely borne by DOE. When normalised, DOE’s 1QFY12 net profit totalled about RM500,000.


While there are numerous acquisition proposals involving various industries on CIH’s table, the company has ruled out industries such as construction, oil and gas, plantation and biotech where technical know-how is required. Management hopes to identify an acquisition target within 12 months. We are cutting our FY12/FY13 earnings forecasts by 18.2% to 23% to RM18.5 million and RM6.1 million respectively to incorporate the weaker results from DOE and Permanis, as well as higher interest income based on management’s timeline guidance. We are downgrading the stock to “neutral” given the less than 10% upside. — OSK Research, Nov 16


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 17, 2011.



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