Time active, up on report Khazanah planning to divest stake

KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): TIME ENGINEERING BHD [] (TEB) shares rose and were actively traded on Monday after the Edge, citing sources, reported that it was likely to be among the companies that Khazanah Nasional Bhd will divest.

At 9.25am, TEB rose 3.5 sen to 356.5 sen with 132.63 million shares done.

The Edge Weekly reported that companies linked to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar are the front runners for the company.

Syed Mokhtar has several companies in the multimedia and communications segment with government contracts. Among them are Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd that has been awarded a 4G license.

TEB is in a net cash position and has several companies with long term clients. Among them include Dagang Net Sdn Bhd.



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Time Engr pre-tax profit jump to RM95.9m

Time Engineering Bhd saw its pre-tax profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2011, jump to RM95.90 million from the RM20.99 million posted in 2010 on disposal gains.

"The improved overall result in the current year was mainly attributable to the gain on disposal of investment and the reversal of RM5.8 million, being over-provision of the finance cost arising from the early full redemption of the Group's Redeemable Secured Loan Stocks," it said in a filing to Bursa today.

Revenue, however, slipped to RM65.34 million from RM87.693 million due to an unfavorable Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) market conditions as well as competitive pricing for awarded projects.

It also said that the lower revenue in the current year was affected by the completion of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) project and supply of ICT Equipment for MIS Implementation in Vietnam.

On the outlook, it said the group is currently pursuing a number of significant projects both locally and overseas, by leveraging on its new flagship investment, Integrated Enterprise Centre (IEC) services.

"With the resources in hand, the group is also exploring and evaluating strategic investments to further enhance its current businesses and services," it added.

The group said it is confident of maintaining the revenue stream from the existing businesses. -- Bernama



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Time Engineering posts net loss RM1.8m in 4Q

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): TIME ENGINEERING BHD [] posted net loss of RM1.81 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 compared with net profit of RM528,000 a year ago as revenue declined due to unfavorable ICT market conditions as well as competitive pricing for the awarded projects.

It said on Monday its revenue fell 26.9% to RM16.01 million from RM21.91 million. Its loss per share was 0.23 sen compared with earnings per share of 0.07 sen.

For FY2011, its earnings were RM87.49 million compared with RM8.19 million a year ago as it recorded a gain of RM91.93 million on disposal of investment.

Its revenue fell RM25.4% to RM65.34 million from RM87.69 million.

“Other than unfavorable ICT market conditions as well as competitive pricing for the awarded projects, the lower revenue in the current year was affected by the completion of the MAMPU project and supply of ICT Equipment for MIS Implementation in Vietnam,” it said.



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Time Engineering shares rally on stake sale

PETALING JAYA: Interest in Time Engineering Bhd shares soared yesterday as the debt-free ICT firm is said to have attracted three bidders to take up a controlling stake in it.

Time’s share price shot up to an intra-day high of 42 sen before it retreated to finish at 40.5 sen yesterday, up 15.7% or 5.5 sen from last Friday’s closing.

Some 89.02 million Time shares changed hands yesterday, the highest level since November 2010, making it the third most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia.

The Edge weekly reported that Khazanah Nasional Bhd has three bidders for its 45.03% stake in Time and the government investment arm is in the midst of evaluating the proposals from the bidders.

The weekly gathered that the bidders were likely to be ICT consultancy firm Zamcorp Bhd, IT solutions company MM Tech Corp, and an entity linked to tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.

“The three were recently asked to submit their proposed business plan for Time, including their offer price. The offers are generally at a slight premium to the stock’s current trading levels, though there are parties reluctant to pay more than the net asset value,” The Edge weekly said, quoting an unnamed source.



Some quarters speculated that there could be a general offer in the pipeline should the new shareholder take over the entire 45.03% equity stake currently held by Khazanah.

It is worth to note that Khazanah and national asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) have plans to divest some of their non-core assets to bumiputera entrepreneurs through open tender as the government pushes for more equity ownership in the hands of bumiputera investors. Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was quoted as saying that the best and most capable bumiputera firms will get to own the companies.

However, some quarters wonder about the intrinsic value of Time, which sold its crown jewel Time dotCom Bhd (TdC) for RM331.9 million to trim its borrowings.

Observers noted that Time’s main appeal is its cash pile which has increased quite substantially, derived from the proceeds of the TdC’s disposal. However, it has utilised 80% of the proceeds to pay off its debts, and is left with about RM68 million, of which the group said is available for investments as and when such opportunities arise, and also for its capital expenditure.

Time has a clean balance sheet now after it paid off its borrowing. As at Sept 30, 2011, Time had RM132.2 million in cash and its equivalents and RM24.4 million in receivables, deposits and pre-payments, and almost no debts. At book value per share of 20 sen, the stock is currently trading at 2.03 times, while its net tangible assets per share stood at 19 sen.


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, February 14, 2012.



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KLCI up on late buying of Genting, Tenaga

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Blue chips closed higher in late trade on Monday, nudged up by gains in GENTING BHD [], Tenaga and PLANTATION [] stocks, in line with the firmer regional markets and European bourses after Greece voted in favour of the austerity bill.

The KLCI was in the red most of the day and managed to rebound towards the last half-hour of trade. It closed 1.16 points or 0.07% higher at 1,562.82. Turnover was 2.66 billion shares valued at RM2.12 billion. There were 364 gainers, 517 losers and 321 stocks unchanged.

Greece approved the deeply unpopular austerity bill to help secure a second bailout, even as riots in central Athens and violence across the country raised doubts about implementation of the approved spending cuts, Reuters reported.

Asian markets posted modest gains on the news, extending their bright start to the year. However, turnover declined from last week, suggesting that some players were cautious about chasing the rally further.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.58% to 8,999.18, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.5% to 20,887.40, Taiwan’s Taiex 0.64% to 7,912.91, South Korea’s Kospi 0.6% to 2,005.74 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index 0.54% to 2,975.98. Shanghai’s Composite Index was flat at 2,351.85.

US light crude oil rose US$1.18 to US$99.85. The ringgit strengthened 0.0069 to 3.0248 against the US dollar.

At Bursa Malaysia, with Monday being the T+3 settlement day after the huge volume on Wednesday, saw some mild selling pressure in lower liners and penny stocks. The broader market weakened somewhat with profit taking picking up pace.

Genting Bhd rose 20 sen to RM10.50 and Tenaga eight sen to RM6.19, adding 2.77 points to the KLCI. BAT was the top gainer, up RM1.20 to RM51.50.

Plantations were given a boost with third-month delivery up RM38 to RM3,168 per tonne. United Plantations added 50 sen to RM22.50, KLK 50 sen also to RM25.98 and BLD Plantations 41 sen to RM10.08.

Compugates was the most active with 272.28 million shares done, up one sen to 13 sen. Talk of a corporate exercise saw Time adding 5.5 sen to 40.5 sen. Hopes of higher offer price saw Tebrau Teguh adding 2.5 sen to 91.5 sen.

Naim Indah Corp fell 11 sen to 56 sen with 196.26 million units done. The share price had surged from 9.0 sen on Feb 2 on expectations of a corporate exercise. It resumed trading on Monday after announcing last Friday it proposed to acquire 60% in Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd for an indicative price of RM240 million from Generasi Cipta Sdn Bhd.

Petronas Dagangan fell 18 sen to RM18.78, GBH 17 sen to RM1.09 and Ekovest 16 sen to RM2.77. DRB-Hicom eased 11 sen to RM2.87.



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Time Engr surges on stake bid news

Time Engineering Bhd, a telecommunication services producer, surged 13 per cent to 39.5 sen, set for the highest close since June 30.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state investment company, is evaluating three bids for its 45 per cent stake in Time, the Edge newspaper reported, citing an unidentified person.

UEM Group Bhd, an arm of Khazanah Nasional, declined to comment on the report, according to an e-mailed statement from UEM Group. -- Bloomberg



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HDBSVR: KLCI could consolidate after 40pt rally past 2 weeks

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): HwangDBS Vickers Research said the benchmark FBM KLCI could consolidate on Monday following an increase of 40.8-point or 2.7% in the last fortnight.

“Still, our local bourse would likely show resilience as investors who have missed out on the earlier market run-up may be waiting to buy on weakness. On the chart, the bellwether may find immediate support at the 1,555 level,” it said.

Over on Wall Street, after the recent market rally, major U.S. equity indices dropped between 0.7% and 0.8% last Friday pending the emergence of fresh market developments.

At Bursa Malaysia, stocks that may be of added interest include: (a) Time Engineering, amid a weekly business report saying that three interested bidders are eyeing to acquire Khazanah Nasional’s 45% stake in the company; (b) BIMB, after a local media reported that its subsidiary Bank Islam is in talks to buy a stake in an Indonesian Islamic lender; and (c) IOI Corporation, following a news article stating that it is considering to re-list its property arm.



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Time Engr rises on eightfold profit jump

Time Engineering Bhd, a Malaysian telecommunications services provider, rose the most in two weeks in Kuala Lumpur trading after third-quarter net income surged eightfold to RM89.7 million.

The stock gained 5.9 per cent to 27 sen at 9:11 a.m. local time, set for its biggest increase since Nov. 9. -- Bloomberg



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Stocks to watch: AirAsia, Mudajaya, Petra Energy, BDRB, PPB

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 23): AIRASIA BHD [] could be in focus on Wednesday after it reported a weaker set of financial results following the impact of higher fuel expense and staff costs.

Other companies which could come under the radar of investors are MUDAJAYA GROUP BHD [], PETRA ENERGY BHD [], BANDAR RAYA DEVELOPMENTS BHD [] and PPB GROUP BHD [].

AirAsia’s earnings for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011 fell 53.46% to RM152.29 million from RM327.29 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher fuel expense and staff costs. Revenue for the quarter rose 9.87% to RM1.08 billion from RM979.71 million in 2010.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, the low-cost carrier’s net profit fell 42.89% to RM428.49 million from RM750.33 million in 2010, despite posting an increase in revenue to RM3.2 billion from RM2.78 billion.

Mudajaya’s net profit jumped 76% to RM63 million from RM46.54 million, aided by a currency translation gain of RM19.39 million compared with loss of RM14.95 million a year ago.

It said on Tuesday its revenue increased at the same pace, up 76.4% to RM337.21 million from RM191.15 million.

For the nine-month period, its earnings showed an increase of 8.7% to RM164.54 million from the RM151.36 million in the previous corresponding period. Revenue rose 43.3% to RM916.39 million from RM639.14 million.

Petra Energy Bhd posted net loss of RM13.68 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011, a contrast from the net profit of RM4.75 million a year ago mainly due to the additional recognition of losses in the onshore civil engineering services on completion of the Kumang project.

It said revenue was flat at RM158.59 million compared with RM158.94 million a year ago while loss per share was 7.02 sen compared with earnings per share of 2.44 sen.

BDRB posted net profit of RM28.40 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30 compared with net loss of RM745,000 a year ago due to better property development gross margins. Other positive factors were higher rental income and gain from disposal of the gourmet delicatessen and foodhall business in the property division.

In a separate development, BDRB said its major shareholder Ambang Sehati Sdn Bhd is mulling the possibility of increasing its stake in BDRB.

BDRB said during its board meeting on Tuesday, an Ambang Sehati representative informed that “it is exploring the possibility of increasing its stake in the company via various means, which may or may not result in a general offer”.

PPB’s earnings fell 20.3% to RM229.40 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30 from RM287.99 million a year mainly due to lower contribution from its associate, Wilmar International Ltd. PPB’s revenue rose 23.6% to RM710.26 million from RM574.53 million while earnings per share were 19.35 sen from 24.29 sen.

TIME ENGINEERING BHD [] posted net profit of RM89.70 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, up 709% from RM11.08 million a year ago, boosted by a gain of RM91.92 million from the disposal of investment. Its revenue slipped 2.9% to RM15.44 million from RM15.91 million mainly due to reduction in the group’s system integration business.



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Time Engineering’s 3Q earnings RM89m, boost from asset disposal

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): TIME ENGINEERING BHD [] posted net profit of RM89.70 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, up 709% from RM11.08 million a year ago, boosted by a gain of RM91.92 million from the disposal of investment.

It said on Tuesday its revenue slipped 2.9% to RM15.44 million from RM15.91 million mainly due to reduction in the group’s system integration business. Earnings per share were 11.57 sen compared with 1.43 sen.

“The current quarter’s results benefited from lower finance cost due to early full redemption of redeemable secured loan stocks and the gain on disposal of investment,” it said.

Time Engineering said for the nine-month period, its earnings were RM89.30 million compared with RM7.66 million in the previous corresponding period. Its revenue fell 25% to RM49.33 million from RM65.78 million.

The lower revenue in the current year was mainly due to the completion of the MAMPU project and supply of ICT Equipment for MIS implementation in Vietnam.

It said the Group would focus on improving its business and services offerings in its e-commerce portfolios. It added the integrated enterprise centre had recently started and was expected to begin contributing to the group results.



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