MAS posts 4Q net loss RM1.27bn, FY11 net loss RM2.52bn

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM BHD [] (MAS) posted net losses totaling RM1.277 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 versus net profit of RM225.92 million a year ago as it severly affected by high fuel costs and non-fuel expenses.

It said on Wednesday that its revenue was RM3.678 billion, almost unchanged from the RM3.669 billion a year ago. Loss per share was 38.22 sen compared with earnings per share of 6.76 sen.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, MAS posted net loss of RM2.524 billion compared with net profit of RM234.47 million a year ago. Its revenue was 2% higher at RM13.901 billion compared with RM13.585 billion a year ago.

“The group’s full year performance was severely impacted by a 21% increase in expenditure over the previous year (2011: RM16.20 billion versus 2010: RM13.41 billion) attributed to a 33% year-on-year increase in fuel cost (2011: RM5.85 billion versus 2010: RM4.38 billion) and a 15% increase in non-fuel expenses (2011: RM10.43 billion versus 2010: RM9.03 billion).

MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the bottomline group losses for 2011 underscored the imperative need for MAS to immediately adopt strong measures to stop the bleeding.

“These include staff redeployment, increasing productivity and efficiency, relentless cost control and making further route reviews. We are also implementing an aggressive sales and marketing strategy,” he said.



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Market Commentary

The FBM KLCI index gained 12.92 points or 0.83% on Wednesday. The Finance Index increased 0.69% to 14017.35 points, the Properties Index up 1.22% to 1052.71 points and the Plantation Index rose 0.34% to 8651.77 points. The market traded within a range of 16.25 points between an intra-day high of 1573.75 and a low of 1557.50 during the session.

Actively traded stocks include YTL, CSL, IFCAMSC, KEYWEST, ECOFIRS, COMPUGT, MUIPROP, NICORP, DBE and TIGER. Trading volume increased to 1942.34 mil shares worth RM2693.55 mil as compared to Tuesday’s 1727.59 mil shares worth RM1588.57 mil.

Leading Movers were YTL (+17 sen to RM1.75), SIME (+12 sen to RM9.69), AXIATA (+7 sen to RM5.17), TENAGA (+8 sen to RM6.28) and GENM (+11 sen to RM3.91). Lagging Movers were PETCHEM (-10 sen to RM6.70) and BAT (-10 sen to RM52.20). Market breadth was positive with 535 gainers as compared to 297 losers. -- JF Apex Securities Bhd



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Sime Darby advances after strong 2Q net profit

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): SIME DARBY BHD []’s share price rose in afternoon trade on Wednesday after it reported net profit of RM1.10 billion in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011.

At 4pm, it was up 12 sen to RM9.69 with 15.88 million shares done.

Sime Darby’s 2Q earnings were 25.5% above the RM877.06 million a year ago. Its revenue increased by 13.9% to RM11.39 billion from RM9.993 billion.

For the first half, it reported a 42% increase in net profit to RM2.175 billion from RM1.531 billion in the previous corresponding period. Its revenue increased 20.2% to RM22.45 billion from RM18.668 billion.



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Teo Seng’s earnings up at RM7m on higher egg prices

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): Poultry-based TEO SENG CAPITAL BHD [] posted a 12.95% increase in its profits to RM7.15 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, from RM6.33 million a year ago, underpinned by larger sales of eggs and better prices.

It said on Wednesday, revenue rose 33.11% to RM74.06 million from RM55.64 million. Earnings per share were 3.58 sen as compared to 3.17 sen a year ago.

The group attributed its performance to increased sales of eggs and higher selling prices of eggs.

For the nine months ended Dec 31, 2011, revenue increased 36.1% to RM201.67 million from RM148.19 million a year ago. However, its net profits fell 12.1% to RM15.35 million from RM17.46 million.



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Masteel posts 4Q net loss of RM13.33m

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd posted net losses of RM13.33 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011 compared with net profit of RM8.99 million a year ago.

It said on Wednesday its revenue increased 15.3% to RM336.65 million from RM291.97 million. Loss per share was 6.33 sen compared with earnings per share of 4.35 sen.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011, it was still profitable, with net profit of RM24.53 million, or down 12.6% to RM24.53 million from RM28.09 million in FY10.

Revenue was higher by 24.7% at RM1.253 billion compared with RM1 billion in FY10.



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Mah Sing buys 157 acres of land in Gombak, plans projects with RM650 GDV

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): MAH SING GROUP BHD [] expanded its land bank with the latest acquisition of 157 acres (63.4 ha) in Bandar Kundang, Gombak for RM40.94 million about RM6 per sq ft.

It said on Wednesday the land was one km south of the group’s project, M Residence@Rawang -- a 226 acre township development acquired in October last year.

Mah Sing proposed to build a self-contained, secured lifestyle township named M Residence 2@Rawang with a gross development value of about RM650 million.

“Based on preliminary plans, the township shall comprise mainly linked semi-detached homes to capture the spillover demands for such products from M Residence. The group intends to replicate the success of Aman Perdana township in Meru-Shah Alam by offering semi-detachedhomes at link house pricing,” it said.

Mah Sing said its units Major Land Development Sdn Bhd and Elite Park Development Sdn Bhd had on Wednesday signed separate sale and purchase agreements with Vibrant Domain Sdn Bhd and Topaz Best Sdn Bhd to acquire the adjacent parcels of land.



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KLCI rallies nearly 12pts at midday

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): Share prices on Bursa Malaysia rallied strongly at midday to send the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) surging 11.87 points to 1,568.60, dealers said.

The FBM KLCI's level was also the highest since July 18.

The market was rejuvenated from yesterday's losses as advances in regional bourses and a sharp decline in oil prices bolstered sentiment, the dealers said.

The Finance Index rose 100.36 points to 14,021.33 and the INDUSTRIAL INDEX gained 33.58 points to 2,890.80, while the PLANTATION Index increased 17.061 points to 8,639.66.

The FBM Emas Index gained 70.359 points to 10,852.26 and the FBM 70 Index increased 30.20 points to 12,242.53, with the FBM Ace Index increasing 19.13 points to 4,708.34.

Gainers led losers 432 to 243 while 309 counters were unchanged, 511 untraded and 33 others suspended. Turnover stood at 973.507 million shares worth RM1.012 billion.

For the actives, China Stationery was flat at RM1.39,IFCA MSC decreased half-a-sen to 13 sen, Compugates Holdings rose one sen to 11 sen and YTL Corporation improved five sen to RM1.63.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM8.75, Sime Darby increased nine sen to RM9.66, and CIMB gained five sen to RM7.18, but Petronas Chemicals slipped 10 sen to RM6.70



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Sime Darby 2Q earnings up 25.5% to RM1.1bn

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 29): SIME DARBY BHD [] posted net profit of RM1.1 billion in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, which was 25.5% above the RM877.06 million a year ago.

It said on Wednesday its revenue increased by 13.9% to RM11.39 billion from RM9.993 billion while earnings per share were 18.32 sen compared with 14.60 sen.

For the first half, it reported a 42% increase in net profit to RM2.175 billion from RM1.531 billion in the previous corresponding period. Its revenue showed a 20.2% increase to RM22.45 billion from RM18.668 billion.

As for its profit before tax, it recorded a 39.9% increase in profit before tax of RM3.089 billion as compared to the previous year’s profit of RM2.207 billion.

“This was achieved on the back of higher revenue which rose by 20.3% to RM22.5 billion from RM18.7 billion previously. All divisions recorded higher contributions with net earnings registering a 42.0% increase over the previous year,” said Sime Darby.

Commenting on the various segments of its businesses, it said the PLANTATION []s’ operating profit rose 38% to RM1.8 billion due to higher realised crude palm oil (CPO) prices and operational efficiency improvements.

The industrial division benefited from the robust activity in the mining, logging and CONSTRUCTION [] sectors in Australia and Malaysia, which saw its operating profit increase 38% to RM628 million.

As for the motors division, it said the Malaysia and China operations continued to be the main forces behind the unit’s resilient performance which saw its operating profit rising 11% from RM277 million to RM308 million.

The property division showed a significant increase of 46 percent in its operating profit to RM193 million.

The energy & utilities Division’s operating profit grew by 127 percent in the first half of the year due to the recognition of deferred revenue of RM99 million from the Malaysia power plant.

The healthcare division posted a higher operating profit of RM14 million, a 7% increase over the previous corresponding half.



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