CIMB, Royal Bank of Scotland in talks

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd Chief Executive Officer Nazir Razak said the Malaysian bank is in talks to buy part of the Asian investment banking operations of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.

Nazir spoke to reporters in Kuala Lumpur today. -- Bloomberg



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CIMB Q4 net profit rises to RM1.13b

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Malaysia’s second-biggest bank, said fourth-quarter net income rose to RM1.13 billion from RM872.6 million a year earlier, it said in a statement today. -- Bloomberg



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Boustead reports RM831m pre-tax profit

Boustead Holdings Bhd has registered a pre-tax profit of RM831 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, a 14per cent jump from RM726.2 million the previous year.

Revenue rose to RM8.555 billion from RM6.181 billion.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, the company said the hike in revenue and profit was mainly due to higher sales volume from its business segments,including 31 per cent increase in revenue for the manufacturing and trading division.

The plantation division's revenue increased by 28 per cent, mainly on stronger palm product prices and better fresh fruit bunches crop. - Bernama



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HLFG 2Q net profit dn 70.3% to RM234m on-yr on one-off items booked yr ago

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] reported its net profit in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 fell 70.3% to RM234.10 million from RM788.46 million mainly due to several one-off items being booked a year ago.

It said on Monday that its revenue fell 19.7% to RM1.043 billion from RM1.30 billion. Earnings per share were 22.60 sen compared with 76.10 sen.

For the first half, its net profit fell 56.2% to RM486.30 million from RM1.11 billion in the previous corresponding period while revenue was 5.3% lower at RM1.963 billion from RM2.073 billion.

Elaborating on the financial performance in 1H ended Dec 31, 2011, it said the decrease was mainly due to several one-off items being booked last year (1HFY11), namely a RM175 million one-off life insurance surplus transfer and a gain on the transfer of Hong Leong Assurance Berhad’s (HLA) general insurance business of RM619 million.

“Excluding these non-recurring one-off items, the ‘normalised’ profit before tax recorded a growth of 37.6% y-o-y in 1HFY12, driven positively by the results of HONG LEONG BANK BHD [],” it said.

It said that its commercial banking division, Hong Leong Bank achieved a growth in profit before tax of 48.7% on-year for 1HFY12.

“This was due to higher earnings from the enlarged banking group segments, lower allowances for impaired loans (decreased RM60.9 million on-year) and a higher share of earnings from 20%-owned associate Bank of Chengdu Co., Ltd (profit after taxation up 18.7% on-year),” it said.

HLFG said the growth was achieved despite one-time costs of RM115 million being booked for the recently concluded voluntary separation scheme exercise in December.



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Market mixed midday, concerns over high oil price

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Blue chips were higher at midday on Monday, buoyed by CIMB and Telekom but the broader market was mixed as investors’ sentiment was cautious about the impact of higher oil prices on the global economy.

The FBM KLCI rose 2.66 points to 1,561.43. Turnover was 851.34 million shares valued at RM730.13 million. There were 340 gainers, 330 losers and 310 stocks unchanged.

Brent crude eased slightly but stayed around 10-month highs above US$125 per barrel amid escalating tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme, according to Reuters. Investors concerns were whether it could break through US$130.

US light crude oil fell 40 cents to US$109.37. Crude palm oil prices for third-month delivery rose RM20 to RM3,296 per tonne. The ringgit weakened against the US dollar to 3.0162.

Key regional markets which fell included Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi and Singapore’s Straits Times – three countries which are heavily dependent on imported crude oil.

At Bursa Malaysia, Dutch Lady rose RM1.70 to RM27.50 and Carlsberg 35 sen to RM9.80 while Guinness Anchor added 16 sen to RM9.10. Among PLANTATION []s, Batu Kawan added 24 sen to RM18.80 and Chin Tek 15 sen to RM9.10.

CIMB added eight sen to RM7.14, pushing up the KLCI by 1.41 points, Telekom added seven sen to RM5.15, nudging the KLCI up 0.59 of a point while AMMB’s six sen gain to RM6.09 pushed the index up by 0.42 of a point. RHB Capital rose 22 sen to RM7.88.

Naim Indah Corp was the most active with 99.48 million shares done, It added 3.5 sen to 55 sen. China Stationery rose 10 sen to RM1.20.

MBM Resources was the top loser, down 20 sen to RM4.42 on profit taking and also concerns about earnings per share dilution from its proposed rights issue.

BAT, SOP and MAHB lost 10 sen each to RM52.46, RM6.15 and RM5.70 respectively. Latexx fell 12 sen to RM1.56 and the warrants 10 sen to RM1.18.



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Boustead Holdings 4Q earnings dn 8.6% to RM192.30m

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): BOUSTEAD HOLDINGS BHD []’s net profit fell 8.6% to RM192.30 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM208.90 million a year ago.

It announced on Monday its revenue jumped 51% to RM2.554 billion from RM1.689 billion. Earnings per share were 18.59 sen compared with 20.20 sen. It proposed dividend of 9.0 sen.

For FY11, its earnings rose 13.6% to RM610.60 million from RM537.50 million in FY10. Its revenue increased 38.4% to RM8.55 billion from RM6.18 billion.

Boustead said for FY11, the PLANTATION [] division delivered RM299 million in profit compared with RM183 million in FY10.

“In addition, the division also benefitted from a gain from the disposal of plantations amounting to RM95 million. The average CPO price realised was RM3,272 per tonne, an increase of 25% over last year’s average of RM2,622 per tonne,” it said.

As for the property division, it registered a 52% increase in profit to RM211 million compared with RM139 million a year ago.

“Fair value gain and increased rental income were the key factors which contributed to the division’s earnings,” it said.

Boustead said its trading and manufacturing division recorded a profit of RM113 million, up 20% from RM94 million in 2010.

“The division performed well this financial year due to strong earnings derived from Boustead Petroleum Marketing Sdn Bhd mainly due to increased volumes from all product lines, stronger operating margins that were achieved through cost optimisation and improved operational efficiencies,” it said.

As for the pharmaceutical division, it registered profit of RM68 million, of which RM40 million was from Idaman Pharma Manufacturing Sdn Bhd for the year under review.

However, the finance and investment division registered a profit of RM45 million during the year under review compared with RM144 million in the previous financial year.

In FY10, the profit included gains from the disposal of BH Insurance Bhd amounting to RM75 million. AFFIN HOLDINGS BHD [] contributed a record profit of RM106 million to the Boustead Group.

As for the heavy industries division, it reported a break-even result compared with last year’s profit of RM146 million due to higher finance charges and the turbulent global economic climate that impacted the division.

Boustead was positive on the outlook as it expected the division to perform well given that the CONSTRUCTION [] of the second generation patrol vessels would be undertaken in the coming financial year.



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Bumi Armada 4Q net profit up 13% to RM124.76m, FY11 RM359m

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Bumi Armada Bhd’s net profit rose 13% to RM124.76 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM110.37 million.

The international offshore oilfield services provider announced on Monday that its revenue was flat at RM370.85 million from RM371.16 million. Earnings per share were 4.26 sen compared with 5.55 sen. It proposed a dividend of 2.5 sen per share.

For FY11, its earnings were just 2.4% higher at RM359.67 million from RM350.745 million. Its revenue increased by 24.3% RM1.543 billion from RM1.241 billion, driven by higher activity across all business segments.

Its operating EBITDA increased 26% (RM185.5 million) to RM 899.6 million in the same period.Its executive director and chief executive officer Hassan Basma said the group managed to secure two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) contracts last year from the six it tendered.

"This is impressive considering that only nine FPSO contracts were tendered last year," he said at a media briefing.

He added that utilisation of its OSV fleet increased to over 90% in the second half of last year and full operations of new vessels also contributed to the growth.

Moving forward, Hassan said the group is looking to secure two FPSO contracts this year.

"We are also looking at increasing our FPSO fleet and is anticipating capital expenditure of US$800 million (for this purpose) this year," he said. The group currently has five FPSOs.

He added that it is looking to increase its OSV fleet to between 80 and 100 units in the next four to five years. It currently owns over 40 OSVs.



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Hong Leong Bank 2Q net profit up 30.8% to RM381m

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): HONG LEONG BANK BHD []’s earnings rose 30.8% to RM381.37 million in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM291.43 million.

It said on Monday its revenue surged 66.1% to RM1.003 billion from RM603.96 million. Its earnings per share were 24.22 sen compared with 20.07 sen. It declared an interim dividend of 11 sen compared with nine sen.

HL Bank group managing director and chief executive, Datuk Yvonne Chia, said “Our second quarter performance continues to deliver the value of the merger to our customers, staff shareholders and wider community.”

Chia said the bank’s focus on delivering merger synergies saw Hong Leong achieve annualised synergies of RM191 million in the first six months of vesting, well ahead of the first full year target of RM180 million annualised savings.

HL Bank said total shareholder equity increased to RM10.6 billion from RM7.5 billion as at June 30, 2011.

As for customer loans, financing and securities, they totalled RM 114.8 billion, representing an annualised growth of 26% from 30 June 2011 levels.

Customer deposits were at RM119.2 billion, an annualised growth of 7.6% from June 30, 2011 levels

For the first half, its earnings rose 43.7% to RM788.48 million from RM548.63 million in the previous corresponding period. Its revenue increased by 67.8% to RM1.920 billion from RM1.143 billion.



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