CIMB Research has technical sell on MRCB at RM1.87

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell on MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP []oration Bhd (MRCB) at RM1.87 at which it is trading at a FY13 price-to-earnings of 23.4 times and price-to-book value of 1.9 times.

It said on Friday the stock’s rally from the September low ended when prices broke below the bearish wedge pattern in February. A couple of days ago, prices fell below its sideways trend, signalling another leg down was underway.

“Its MACD has reconfirmed its dead crossover and RSI is now on a downtrend once more.

“Any rebounds should be capped by the sideways band at RM1.94-RM2.03. Expect prices to fall further towards RM1.77 and RM1.64 next. Stop is above RM2.03,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

RAM Ratings keeps negative rating watch on MRCB Southern Link’s debt notes

KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): RAM Rating Services Bhd is maintaining the respective AA3 and A2 ratings of MRCB Southern Link Bhd’s (MRCB SL) RM845 million secured senior Sukuk (2008/2025) and RM199 million junior Sukuk (2008/2027).

It said on Tuesday that however, the ratings of the senior and junior Sukuk continue to be on negative Rating Watch due to the uncertainties of collecting toll at the Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL).

To recap, on March 9, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that motorists who do not use the EDL will not be required to pay toll charges.

However, the ratings agency pointed out the announcement differed from the terms of the concession agreement, under which all motorists (with the exception of motorcycles) that use the Johor Baru-Singapore Causeway must pay the EDL toll charges.

MRCB SL is a unit and funding conduit of MRCB Lingkaran Selatan Sdn Bhd, which holds the concession for the 8.1-km EDL in Johor Bahru.

The proceeds from the Sukuk were used to fund the CONSTRUCTION [] of the EDL, which was fully completed on Jan 15, 2012 and was awaiting the issuance of a certificate of fitness.

Pending finalisation of some technical issues, the Government is expected to make a further announcement by end-March 2012.

“RAM Ratings will closely monitor the relevant developments; any changes in the terms of the concession will be reassessed for credit implications as they are made available,” it said.

The ratings agency, in its comments on the negative Rating Watch, said this reflected uncertainties pertaining to the EDL’s ability to commence tolling operations, its eventual tolling mechanism and traffic volume.

“These factors could have a negative bearing on the Company’s cashflow profile and debt-servicing ability throughout the tenure of the sukuk.

“We highlight that, should MRCB SL be unable to begin tolling operations and not receive timely and adequate cash compensation, it is likely to face a shortfall in its cashflow to meet its debt obligations in December 2012. Under these circumstances, there could be a multi-notch downgrade for the senior and junior Sukuk,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

CIMB Research has technical sell on MRCB at RM2.01

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 23): CIMB Equities Research has a technical sell on MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP []oration Bhd (MRCB) at RM2.01 at which it is trading at a FY13 price-to-earnings of 21.1 times and price-to-book value of 2.1 times.

It said on Thursday that MRCB’s rally from the September low is most likely over following its breakdown of the bearish wedge pattern last week.

On Wednesday, prices fell sharply below its key moving averages. Its MACD has also fallen below zero while its RSI is below the neutral mark. Both indicators are trending lower in line with prices.

“Any rebounds should be capped by the trend line at RM2.18 while the moving averages around RM2.08-2.11 would also act as a resistance. As long as the RM2.27 high is intact, then prices are more likely to head lower to retest the RM1.87 level next,” said CIMB Research.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

EDL losses to weigh down MRCB’s FY12 performance

Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (Feb 10, RM2.17)
Downgrade to market perform with revised fair value of RM2.11 from RM2.40: MRCB guided for RM30 million to RM40 million start-up losses in FY12 ending December from the newly completed 100%-owned Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) in Johor. The losses will come predominantly from an expected two-month gap between the opening of the toll road to the public in March this year and the commencement of tolling in May.

MRCB projects a base-case average daily traffic volume of about 75,000 to 80,000 cars and expects the toll road to turn profitable in FY13.

MRCB guided for very thin margins from the RM1.4 billion LRT line extension project it secured in August 2011. Out of the total RM1.4 billion, only about RM450 million worth of main works is earmarked to be carried out directly by MRCB (that fetches 3% to 4% margins).

The remaining jobs, comprising predominantly stations, depots and anciliary works worth about RM950 million in total, will be awarded separately by Prasarana Negara Bhd to other contractors. MRCB will only earn a 1% management fee.

MRCB was less “chatty” about the redevelopment project on the 1,085ha Rubber Research Institute (RRI) land in Sungai Buloh. The management just described it as “still work in progress”.



FY12 to FY14 net profit forecasts are cut by 14% to 44% largely to reflect RM30 million to RM40 million start-up losses in FY12 from the EDL, as well as lower blended construction earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) margins in FY12 to FY14.

Risks include: (i) new construction contracts secured in FY12 to FY14 coming in below our target of RM1.5 billion per year; (ii) rising input costs; and (iii) EDL tolling commencing later than May this year.

We have turned less enthusiastic on construction stocks as we believe their share price performance is likely to be muted over the next six to 12 months as the market begins to price in a higher risk premium for construction stocks ahead of the general election that must be held by March 2013.

Indicative fair value for MRCB is cut by 12% from RM2.40 to RM2.11 based on sum-of-parts. Valuations are no longer as compelling. We therefore downgrade our call on MRCB from “trading buy” to “market perform”. — RHB Research Institute, Feb 10


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 13, 2012.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB a 'buy', say research houses

MIDF Research has maintained a "buy" recommendation on Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) with an unchanged target price of RM2.41, as it may benefit from the slew of expected contract awards this year.

The research house said the construction sector has regained its momentum since early this year, supported by positive news flow and job awards to contractors.

"We expect MRCB's construction division to recover this year," it said in a research note today, adding, the company had a healthy outstanding order book of RM2.5 billion.

MRCB's external revenue from the construction division was lower by 10.2 per cent year-on-year for financial year 2011, as the company was focused largely on in-house construction works.

MIDF Research said MRCB might top up its construction order book by RM1.5 billion in the current financial year.

It is also expecting MRCB's construction margin to recover this year given lower building material prices, particularly steel bars, which is relatively cheaper as compared to last year.

Steel bars are now trading at RM2,150-RM2,300 per metric tonne, which is five-six per cent lower than the average price in 2011.

Meanwhile, OSK Research has recommended a "buy" on MRCB at an unchanged fair value of RM2.50, as construction of the light rail transit (LRT) extension is expected to fully start this year.

"We expect the construction division to post a better performance as it was awarded a major contract for the LRT extension," it said.

At 12pm, MRCB's shares declined four sen to RM2.20. -- Bernama



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB 4Q profit falls to RM26m

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd’s (MRCB) net profit for 4QFY11 ended Dec 31 fell to RM26.12 million, or 1.88 sen a share, from RM41.5 million in the same period last year.

Revenue, however, rose to RM470.39 million from RM433.19 million previously, MRCB said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday. For the full year of 2011, net profit gained 15.2% to RM77.46 million while revenue increased 13.6% to RM1.21 billion.

MRCB said the better performance in FY11 was due to higher contribution from the group’s ongoing property development projects at Kuala Lumpur Sentral, which it has offset against lower revenue from the infrastructure and environmental segment due to completion of existing environmental projects.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 9, 2012.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB 4Q profit falls to RM26m

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd’s (MRCB) net profit for 4QFY11 ended Dec 31 fell to RM26.12 million, or 1.88 sen a share, from RM41.5 million in the same period last year.

Revenue, however, rose to RM470.39 million from RM433.19 million previously, MRCB said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday. For the full year of 2011, net profit gained 15.2% to RM77.46 million while revenue increased 13.6% to RM1.21 billion.

MRCB said the better performance in FY11 was due to higher contribution from the group’s ongoing property development projects at Kuala Lumpur Sentral, which it has offset against lower revenue from the infrastructure and environmental segment due to completion of existing environmental projects.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 9, 2012.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

KL shares close higher

Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Malaysia trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the close in Kuala Lumpur.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index rose 0.8 per cent to 1,565.32, its fifth day of gains and the highest close since July 21.

Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd climbed 3.2 per cent to RM2.28, its highest close since July 27. The construction company’s power-purchase talks with Sarawak Energy Bhd are ongoing and expected to be completed in coming months, Cahya Mata said in an exchange filing.

Compugates Holdings Bhd, a supplier of cellular phones, calculators and digital cameras, fell 4 per cent to 12 sen, the most since Jan. 30. The company isn’t aware of the reasons for the 39 per cent surge in its share price yesterday, it said in a response to a query by the stock exchange.

Malaysian Resources Corp, a property and construction group, dropped 2.2 per cent to RM2.19, its steepest decline since Jan. 12. Fourth-quarter net income slid 37 per cent from a year earlier to RM26.1 million, according to an exchange filing.

Naim Indah Corp, a property developer, surged 37 per cent to 67 sen, its highest close since October 2000. Its major shareholder Crest Energy Sdn Bhd sold a 22.8 per cent stake in the company to a group led by Raymond Chan, Naim Indah said in an exchange filing. The sharp rise in the price and volume prompted the stock exchange to advise investors today to “exercise caution” in trading the stock.

WCT Bhd, a construction group, jumped 7.8 per cent to RM2.78, its highest close since Aug. 17. The company won a RM300 million contract to build government buildings in Kuala Lumpur, WCT said in a statement. -- Bloomberg



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

Malaysian Resources falls on Q4 income slide

Malaysian Resources Corp, a property and construction group, fell 1.8 per cent to RM2.20, headed for its steepest decline since Jan 30.

Fourth-quarter net income slid 37 per cent from a year earlier to RM26.1 million (US$8.7 million), according to a filing to the exchange. -- Bloomberg



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

RHB Research maintains Trading Buy on MRCB, lower FV of RM2.40

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): RHB Research Institute is maintaining a Trading Buy on MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP []oration Bhd.

It said on Thursday that the indicative fair value for MRCB is trimmed by 2% from RM2.46 to RM2.40 based on “sum of parts”.

“We have turned less enthusiastic on CONSTRUCTION [] stocks as we believe their share price performance is likely to be muted over the next six to 12 months,” it said.

RHB Research said one reason was that the market begins to price in a higher risk premium for construction stocks ahead of the nation’s general elections that will have be held by March 2013.

“Even if the Klang Valley MRT project is to start work as scheduled, initial progress is likely to be painfully slow due to bureaucratic hurdles, which means realistically, earnings impact from the Klang Valley MRT may be a few quarters, or even a year or two away,” it said.

The research house also said there is generally a lack of credible new large-scale projects in the pipeline.

“For MRCB, however, there is a trading angle coming from the strong likelihood of it being offered a dual role, i.e. project manager and developer, by parent Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in the redevelopment of the 2,680-acre Rubber Research Institute (RRI) land in Sungai Buloh.

“Also, a 60:40 JV between Ekovest and MRCB is poised to bag the beautification portion worth RM1bn of the initial phase of the River of Life project. Indicative fair value for MRCB is trimmed by 2% from RM2.46 to RM2.40 based on ‘sum of parts’,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

Stocks to watch: Kimlun, WCT, JCY, MRCB, Naim Indah

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): With the trading volume surging to fresh highs and the FBM KLCI at a six month high on Wednesday, investors should be ready to take some profit.

Key regional markets had also a strong run on Wednesday and whether the rally can be sustained on Thursday hinges on Greece as its leaders seem nearing a deal to secure a second bailout and avoid a messy default.

Trading volume on Bursa Malaysia surged to a record 4.39 billion units on Wednesday, driven by strong speculative trading in penny stocks while the FBM KLCI hit a six-month high of 1,553 as it played catch-up with regional peers.

Stocks to watch are Kimlun Corporation Bhd, WCT BHD [], JCY International Bhd, MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BHD (MRCB) and NAIM INDAH CORPORATION BHD [].

Kimlun’s unit SPC Industries Sdn Bhd has secured a RM223.18-million contract from Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn. Bhd to supply segmental box girders for the Sungai Buloh to Kajang stretch of the Klang Valley MRT.

WCT secured a RM300.52 million contract for the headquarters of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry from Putrajaya Management Sdn Bhd.

Hard-disk drive manufacturer JCY International Bhd’s earnings surged to a record RM162.45 million in the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from only RM7.51 million a year ago. Its revenue rose 27.3% to RM559.03 million from RM438.90 million a year ago.

MRCB’s net profit fell 37% to RM26.11 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 (4Q 2011) from RM41.50 million a year ago. It recorded a slightly lower profit before taxation amounting to RM42.5 million for 4Q 2011 compared to RM49.3 million in 4Q 2010.

Its revenue rose 8.6% to RM470.38 million from RM433.12 million. Its earnings per share were 1.88 sen compared with 3.01 sen. It proposed dividend of 2.0 sen a share compared with 1.50 sen a year ago.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, its net profit rose 15.1% to RM77.46 million from RM67.27 million. Its revenue increased by 13.6% to RM1.213 billion from RM1.067 billion.

Naim Indah Corporation Bhd’s major shareholder Crest Energy Sdn. Bhd had disposed of all its 22.80% stake comprising of 160.06 million shares in the company. The counter hit limit-up and was the second most active on expectations of a turnaround for the company with the entry of new shareholders.

The shares were chased up on expectations of another bout of buying by speculators. However, it remains to be seen if the upward trend and high volume can be sustained.

Bursa Malaysia Securities issued an unusual market activity (UMA) query to COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD [] on Wednesday. The query was due to the sharp rise in price and high volume in the company’s shares. Compugates rose 3.5 sen to 12.5 sen with 451.47 million shares done.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB 4Q earnings down 37% to RM26.1m from RM41.50m yr ago

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BHD’s (MRCB) net profit fell 37% to RM26.11 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 (4Q 2011) from RM41.50 million a year ago.

It said on Wednesday the group recorded a slightly lower profit before taxation amounting to RM42.5 million for 4Q 2011 compared to RM49.3 million in 4Q 2010.

“The lower profit reported was due to recognition of full cost for variation order claims of which recovery of the same are pending clients’ approval,” it said.

Its revenue rose 8.6% to RM470.38 million from RM433.12 million. Its earnings per share were 1.88 sen compared with 3.01 sen. It proposed dividend of 2.0 sen a share compared with 1.50 sen a year ago.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, its net profit rose 15.1% to RM77.46 million from RM67.27 million. Its revenue increased by 13.6% to RM1.213 billion from RM1.067 billion.

“The improved performance in revenue and profitability in the current financial year was due to higher contribution from the group’s on-going and encouraging strata offices sales from property development projects at Kuala Lumpur Sentral.

“However, this was offset by lower revenue from the infrastructure and environmental segment due to completion of existing environmental projects,” it said.

On the outlook for 2012, MRCB expected to deliver another year of revenue growth, driven by on-going property development projects in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, outstanding CONSTRUCTION [] order book and the opening of the Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL).

“However, given the intense competition within the construction industry and the anticipated start up losses from the EDL, the board expects the profitability growth for the group to be challenging,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MIDF Research upgrades construction sector to Positive

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): MIDF Research has upgraded the CONSTRUCTION [] sector to Positive from Neutral.

In a note Jan 13, the research house said this was after taking into account heightened expectation of stronger orderbook replenishment in 2012.

“Execution risk will be mitigated by stronger needs to pump-prime the economy to counter the effect of the European debt crisis.

“We are upgrading Gamuda (TP: RM4.40) and MRCB (TP: RM2.40) to Buy given their stronger prospect of securing the ETP projects, namely KV MRT, Gemas-JB Railway EDTP and River of Life jobs,” it said.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB advances in early trade after MIDF Research upgrade

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP []oration Bhd shares advanced in early trade on Friday after MIDF Research upgraded the stock to a Buy from Neutral with a higher target price of RM2.41 from RM1.94 previously.

At 9.15am, MRCB gained two sen to RM2.05 with 34,000 shares done.

The research house said in a note Jan 13 that the upgrade was largely due to the adjustment of its sum-of-parts valuation after assigning a higher forward PE multiples of 14x (in line with its FY12 KLCI target PER) for MRCB’s CONSTRUCTION [] segment.

“MRCB is one of our top picks in construction sector given its higher possibility of winning ETP project (i.e. RM1 billion beautification works of River of Life), as well as the continuous improvement of its property segment’s financial performance,” said MIDF Research.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

Malaysian Resources buoyed by EPF deal

Malaysian Resources Corp, a property and construction group, rose 1 per cent to RM2.09, set for its highest close since Aug. 24.

The company won a RM.9 million contract to upgrade the Employees Provident Fund’s building in eastern Sabah state, it said in a statement. -- Bloomberg



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

RHB Research downgrades construction sector to Neutral from Overweight

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd has downgraded its recommendation for the CONSTRUCTION [] sector to Neutral from Overweight.

In a note Friday, the research house said investors’ confidence and comfort level that the Klang Valley MRT project would start work soon was being chipped away by further delays in the roll-out of certain already long-overdue large-scale projects.

Even if the Klang Valley MRT project is to start work as scheduled, initial progress is likely to be painfully slow due to bureaucratic hurdles, it said.

There is generally a lack of credible new large-scale projects in the pipeline, it said.

“Gamuda and Fajarbaru are downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform.

“No changes in Outperform for TRC, HSL and Eversendai, Trading Buy for MRCB, Market Perform for WCT and Underperform for IJM,” said RHB Research.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB shares rise on Sabah EPF building upgrade contract

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BHD shares edged up on Friday after its unit MRCB Engineering Sdn Bhd has been awarded a RM13.93 million contract to upgrade the Sabah Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building.

At 9.26am, MRCB gained two sen to RM2.09 with 191,300 shares done.

MRCB said on Thursday that the project involved renovating and upgrading the EPF Building in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah of approximately 400,000 square feet.

MRCB said the project would be financed via internally generated funds and/or borrowings, and completed within 18 months from Jan 16, 2012.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

Stocks to watch: Muhibbah, Perisai Petroleum, MRCB, HELP, technology-related stocks

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 22): Trading on Bursa Malaysia on Friday ahead of the extended weekend is likely to be cautious, given the muted reaction of regional markets on Thursday following the take-up of nearly 490 billion euros from the European Central Bank at its first-ever offer of three-year loans on Wednesday.

Although the FBM KLCI closed higher on Thursday, the broader market remained weaker with losers edging gainers, a trend that will likely be repeated on Friday.

Among the stocks that could be in focus today are Muhibbah Engineering Bhd, PERISAI PETROLEUM TEKNOLOGI BHD, MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BHD, HELP INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION BHD and TECHNOLOGY-related stocks.

Muhibbah Engineering Bhd and its Australian joint venture partner Monadelphous Group Limited have landed a RM1.05 billion (AUD330 million) job to build an approach jetty and ship berth in Queensland.

Muhibbah said on Thursday that Monadelphous Muhibbah Marine JV (MMM) had secured the contract to build the jetty and ship berth associated with the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty Ltd’s (WICET) Project at Gladstone in Queensland.

MMM is a 50:50 joint venture between Muhibbah CONSTRUCTION [] Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Muhibbah in Australia and Monadelphous Engineering Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monadelphous Group Ltd.

Perisai expects contribution from its mobile offshore production unit (MOPU), which it acquired through Garuda Energy (L) Ltd to be realised by FY12.

Its managing director Zainol Izzet Ishak said on Thursday that the acquisition would be finalised by the end of this year and will start contributing to the group's bottom line from the first day of its operation as the group's asset.

MRCB’s unit MRCB Engineering Sdn Bhd was awarded a RM13.93 million contract to upgrade the Sabah Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building in Kota Kinabalu.

HELP’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Oct 31, 2011 fell 44.6% to RM3.59 million from RM6.47 million a year earlier, due to new student recruitment affected by delays in obtaining licences and approvals for operations.

Revenue for the quarter rose to RM28.44 million from RM27.33 million in 2010.

HELP proposed a final gross dividend of two sen per share of 50 sen each, amounting to RM2.13 million for the financial year ending Oct 31, 2011.

For the financial year ended Oct 31, HELP’s net profit fell 31.6% to RM13.06 million from RM19.1 million in 2010, on the back of increased revenue of RM108.06 million from RM105.2 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, OSK Investment Research on Thursday upgraded the technology sector to Neutral and said that better HDD pricing could help mitigate losses from the Thailand flood.

It said that against the backdrop of the massive works in progress to restore operations following Thailand’s crippling floods, the worst could well be over.

The research said it had become less bearish on the hard-hit HDD components sector given the ongoing accelerated restoration as well as potential price hike over the immediate term, which could mitigate the earnings pressure from forgone capacity in the short term.

The research house upgraded Eng Teknologi and Notion Vtec from Sell to Neutral, and upped its recommendation on JCY International to Trading Buy from Sell.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

MRCB gets RM13.93m job to upgrade Sabah EPF building

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 22): MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORPORATION BHD unit MRCB Engineering Sdn Bhd has been awarded a RM13.93 million contract to upgrade the Sabah Employees Provident Fund (EPF) building.

MRCB said on Thursday that the project involved renovating and upgrading the EPF Building in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah of approximately 400,000 square feet.

MRCB said the project would be financed via internally generated funds and/or borrowings, and completed within 18 months from Jan 16, 2012.



Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.

The River of Life beautification work for Ekovest-MRCB

KUALA LUMPUR: The project delivery partner (PDP) of the River of Life project, Ekovest-MRCB JV Sdn Bhd, will earn more than just the RM22 million fee in the coming three years, said Ekovest Bhd managing director Lim Keng Cheng.

Lim pointed out that the joint venture firm, will get better benefits as the PDP of the project than being a sub-contractor bidding for the work packages of the River of Life project. Ekovest has a 60% stake in the Ekovest-MRCB.

Speaking after the company’s AGM, Lim told the media that Ekovest-MRCB might participate in the beautification of a 10.7km portion of the Klang river, but will not take part in the river cleaning works. He said according to the agreement between Ekovest-MRCB and the federal government, the PDP is not allowed to tender for the land along the 10.7km portion of the river.

Furthermore, the joint venture firm is not permitted to bid for the river cleaning works for the 110 km of the Klang river that runs through the capital.

However, according to Lim, the agreement is silent on the beautification works of the project.

“As the PDP, our role is to coordinate the 43 government agencies to make sure the project be delivered on time, and we also have some monetary incentives, where we should look into enhancing the value of the land, the various engineering on the cleaning of the river, and ensure the KPI (key performance indicator) is met on the beautification of the river,” said Lim, who is the nephew of Datuk Lim Kang Hoo.

Lim (left) and executive director Cho Joy Leong at the press conference yesterday.

Kang Hoo is the major shareholder of Ekovest, holding a 24.61% equity stake.

In an earlier announcement to Bursa Malaysia, Ekovest said being the PDP, Ekovest-MRCB would earn a maximum fee of RM22 million, which is equivalent to 1% of the total projected works to be delivered over the three-year period.

In addition, it noted that the PDP will also enjoy “monetary incentives” with respect to the river rehabilitation and beautification works.

However, Lim declined to reveal the details of the “monetary incentives”. He only disclosed that as part of the special monetary incentives, the PDP would earn a sum by helping the government to look for buyers for the land along the riverbank.

Also, he said Ekovest-MRCB would be rewarded if the joint venture firm managed to look for bidders who could do the river beautification and rehabilitation works at the lowest costs, even at costs below the allocated budget.

For 1QFY12 ended Sept 30, Ekovest recorded a net profit of RM6.5 million compared with RM1 million in the previous corresponding period. Revenue rose to RM31.9 million from RM21.3 million previously.

For FY11 ended June 30, Ekovest posted a net profit of RM24.6 million compared with RM10.1 million the year before. However, revenue was sharply lower at RM128.2 million versus RM217.7 million for FY10.

Ekovest attributed the higher earnings to the recognition of RM20.97 million after incorporating the effects of adopting FRS 139 compared to the preceding year.

However, excluding earnings recognition under FRS 139, the company’s earnings were lower compared with the preceding year as a result of a drop in revenue.

Ekovest’s order book stands at RM230 million currently and this can keep the company busy for up to two years, while its tender book stands at around RM3 billion. Ekovest plans to develop its 11.5 acres of land in Cheras into a mixed development worth RM1.5 billion, to be located near an MRT station.

In addition, Ekovest also has 20 acres of land each in Setapak and Iskandar Malaysia.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, December 20, 2011.




Get your T+10 interest FREE margin trading account NOW. Attractive brokerage for online trading. Contact Mr Ho at +603-5192 0808 or hoxian@sjsec.com.my for more details.