Masteel to seek approval for Iskandar rail project next year

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel) plans to seek approval for its proposed commuter rail project in Iskandar Malaysia at a presentation to the Economic Council scheduled to be held in the first quarter of 2012.

In an update to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Masteel said it has over the past three months held a series of meetings with the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on the proposed commuter rail project .

Masteel said it had made presentations and had discussions with Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd and the Railway Asset Corp on the various operational requirements of the Metropolitan Commuter Network Sdn Bhd (MCN). MCN is the joint venture company set up by Masteel and KUB Malaysia Bhd to submit a joint proposal to the government for the rail transit network project in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.

Masteel supplies steel to fabricators that primarily serve the oil, gas and petrochemical industry.

KUB is involved in property, engineering and construction, information technology and food-related industries. Masteel’s net profit for 3QFY11 ended Sept 30 increased four-fold to RM16.19 million from RM4.76 million a year ago due to higher margins for its products.

Pre-tax profit tripled to RM17.46 million from RM5.43 million a year ago on the back of a 5.36% growth in revenue to RM300.31 million.

For the nine-month period, Masteel’s net profit almost doubled to RM37.86 million from RM19.18 million, while revenue grew 28.6% to RM916.71 million from RM712.8 million a year ago.

Quarter-on-quarter, its net profit rose 4.62% to RM16.19 million from RM15.47 million while revenue fell 11.14% to RM337.98 million.

Masteel shares yesterday fell one sen to RM1.05, a 56.9% discount to its net assets per share of RM2.44 as at Sept 30.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 1, 2011.



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Stocks to watch: Maxis, Axiata, E&O, Tanjung, PJI

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 1): After the flurry of corporate results for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2011, stocks which could see trading interest on Thursday include Maxis Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd and Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O).

Other companies which could also come under focus following fresh contracts are PJI HOLDINGS BHD [], TANJUNG OFFSHORE BHD [] and MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BHD (MRCB).

Maxis’ earnings fell 10.6% to RM537 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30 from RM610 million a year ago on higher administrative expenses and network operation costs. Revenue was 1.3% higher at RM2.244 billion from RM2.216 billion a year ago, while earnings per share were 7.2 sen compared with 8.0 sen. It declared a third interim single-tier tax exempt dividend of 8.0 sen per share.

Meanwhile, Axiata’s earnings fell 7.7% to RM589.62 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 from RM639.12 million a year ago on foreign exchange translation losses and higher costs. Net foreign exchange losses surged to RM43.91 million compared with gains on financing activities of RM71.96 million a year ago.

E&O saw its earnings surge 172% to RM13.83 million from RM5.08 million a year ago. Its revenue increased by 25.5% to RM82.60 million from RM65.81 million while earnings per share were 1.27 sen compared with 0.48 sen.

Tanjung Offshore’s subsidiary, Tanjung Maintenance Services Sdn Bhd has secured a RM43 million contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd. The contract was to provide maintenance services for mechanical rotating equipment at all offshore platforms operated by Petronas Carigali in the Sarawak operations region .

PJI Holdings Bhd’s unit has secured two contracts worth RM59.64 million at the KLIA2 involving the low voltage system for several locations at the KLIA2.

Its unit P.J. Indah Sdn Bhd had accepted the letter of award from BINA PURI HOLDINGS BHD [] to formalise the sub-contract valued at RM25.16 million.

P.J. Indah had also accepted a RM34.64 million contract from UEM CONSTRUCTION [] Sdn Bhd for the design, supply and maintenance of the low voltage system, uninterruptible power supply and lightning protection system at KLIA2.

MRCB has secured a RM40.3 million contract to carry out coastal protection works at the Sungai Perai river mouth. MRCB said it had received the letter of award from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage for the third phase of the project.

FABER GROUP BHD [] posted net losses of RM26.87 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 compared with net profit of RM29.01 million a year ago. The losses were mainly due to the recognition of costs amounting to RM44.5 million for works completed for the projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where the corresponding revenue was not recognised as it could not be measured reliably.

KUB MALAYSIA BHD [] posted net loss of RM12.86 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, a vast contrast from the net profit of RM2.49 million a year ago. KUB had undertaken impairment assessments on its assets of underperforming subsidiaries and decided to provide impairment losses of RM14.70 million.



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KUB posts net loss RM12.85m in 3Q after RM14.7m impairments

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): KUB MALAYSIA BHD [] posted net loss of RM12.86 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, a vast contrast from the net profit of RM2.49 million a year ago.

KUB said on Wednesday it had undertaken impairment assessments on its assets of underperforming subsidiaries and decided to provide impairment losses of RM14.70 million.

It said revenue did improve by 2% to RM181.64 million from RM178 million while loss per share was 2.31 sen compared with earnings per share of 0.45 sen.

For the nine-month period, its racked losses of RM19.12 million compared with net profit of RM5.30 million in the previous corresponding period. Revenue showed a 2.6% decline to RM521.89 million compared with RM535.78 million a year ago.

It said the weaker nine-month performance was due to non-materialisation of the ICT and other projects. It was also affected by higher food costs.



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KUB secures additional RM11.7m Telekom contract

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 10): KUB MALAYSIA BHD []’s unit has accepted an additional contract from TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD [] for the supply and delivery of the residential gateway system of RM11.78 million.

It said the additional contract increased the total amount of the TM contract to RM34.93 million.

“The additional contract tenure is for a period of one year,” KUB said, adding this would contribute positively to the group‘s earnings and earnings per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011.

KUB said there are minimal risks as the additional contract is based on current and immediate requirement of TM for the supply and delivery of the residential gateway.