SC says received a total of 19 corporate proposals in Q1 2012

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30); The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) received a total of 19 corporate proposals in Q1 2012 as compared to 41 proposals in Q4 2011.

In a statement Monday, the SC said this was in line with the trend of increasing preference for fund-raising through issuance of corporate bonds and sukuk, the majority (79%) of the proposals were for issuance of private debt securities (PDS).

The SC said that out of the 19 corporate proposals, 15 were for PDS while the remaining four (i.e. 21%) were equity applications.

“Out of the four equity applications, two were for IPO, as compared to one in Q4 2011,” it said.

The SC said approved ringgit-denominated sukuk issuances in Q1 2012 stood at RM11 billion, which reflected an increase from the RM7.7 billion registered in the same quarter last year.

“The SC has also approved one IPO in Q1 2012, which is expected to raise RM20.4 million from the capital market, with a potential market capitalisation of RM82.0 million.

“Total amount of funds to be raised from the IPO and private debt securities approved in Q1 2012 is RM21.9 billion, compared to RM49 billion in Q4 2011,” it said.

For collective investment schemes, the SC said it approved 14 applications to establish new funds in Q1, as compared to 33 in Q4 last year.

“Out of the total applications for new funds, five were for the establishment of new unit trust funds; nine were for wholesale funds,” it said.



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Pantech 4Q net profit surges 90% to RM10.68m

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): PANTECH GROUP HOLDINGS BHD [] Net profit for the fourth quarter ended Feb 29, 2012 surged 90% to RM10.68 million from RM5.11 million a year earlier, due mainly to an increase in revenue.

The company said on Monday that its revenue for the quarter jumped 76.2% to RM128.45 million from RM72.9 million in 2011 due to improved sales demand from oil and gas sector with the on-going new projects.

Earnings per share rose to 2.37 sen from 1.14 sen, whiel net assets per share was 75 sen.

Pantech proposed a final single tier dividend of 1.3 sen per share 20 sen each amounting to RM5.84 million for the financial year ended Feb 29, 2012, subject to shareholders' approval.

For the financial year ended Feb 29, Pantech’s net profit rose 19% to RM34.5 million from RM28.99 million in 2011, while revenue rose to RM437.03 million from RM335.78 million.

Reviewing its performance, Pantech said the higher profit and revenue was due mainly to higher sales from both manufacturing and trading division, and the contribution of margin from sale of carbon steel niche products.

On its prospects, Pantech said it would continue to focus and expand on its existing revenue generating businesses and seek opportunities to grow its businesses, both locally and overseas, by expanding its capacity as the major pipes, fittings and flow controls solutions provider to the oil and gas industries and related upstream and downstream industries.

“The recent oil and gas discoveries offshore Malaysia and the on-going oil and gas investment under Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) announced by the Government of Malaysia is expected to intensify capital investment in this sector.

“The Group is of the view that the long term outlook of the oil and gas industries continues to be positive and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Group expects its overall performance for the next financial year to remain satisfactory,” it said.



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Sozo Global proposes first and final net tax exempt dividend of 3.8 sen

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): Sozo Global Ltd has proposed a first and final tax exempt dividend of 3.8 sen per share for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Monday, the company said the dividend was subject to the shareholders’ approval at its the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.



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Spritzer 3Q net profit jumps 69.4% to RM3.66m

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): SPRITZER BHD [] net profit for the third quarter ended Feb 29, 2012 jumped 69.4% to RM3.66 million from RM2.16 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher sales of more profitable carbonated and flavoured drinks and natural mineral water products.

The company said on Monday that its revenue for the quarter rose 33% to RM45.22 million from RM34.09 million in 2011 on higher sales volume.

Earnings per share increased to 2.18 sen from 1.65 sen, while net assets per share was RM1.13.

For the nine months ended Sept 29, Spritzer posted net profit RM8.57 million compared to RM7.84 million a year earlier, on the back of revenue RM131.53 million from RM104.73 million in 2011.

On its prospects, the company said that whilst the domestic economic outlook had remained positive, the global economic outlook was highly uncertain mainly due to the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis.

It said the persistent high raw material prices also posed a greater challenge to the group.

The company said it would continue to focus on achieving greater economies of scale and improving its productivity and operational efficiency so as to remain competitive.

“In line with our expansion plan and higher installed capacity, the Group will seek to further broaden its product range, including the recent introduction of the larger-pack-size bottled water suitable for the use of water dispensers, to cater to the needs of the various market segments.

“With the resilient domestic market and our continuous efforts to improve our export sales, we remain confident that the volumes and earnings of our various bottled water products will be further strengthened,” it said.



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Kencana unit gets EPCC contract from Petronas Gas worth RM35m

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): KENCANA PETROLEUM BHD []’s wholly owned subsidiary, Kencana HL Sdn. Bhd. ("Kencana HL") in consortium with Shinryo (M) Sdn Bhd has secured an engineering, procurement, CONSTRUCTION [] and commissioning (“EPCC”) from PETRONAS GAS BHD [].

Kencana said on Monday that the contract was for the EPCC of two cogeneration plants, having combined capacity of 50MW of electrical power and steam capacity of 120 ton per hour.

The company said the portion of the contract value for Kencana HL was estimated at RM35 million.

“The Contract is expected to be fully completed by first quarter of calendar year 2014,” it said.

Kencana said the contract was expected to contribute positively to its earnings for the duration of the contract.



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KLCI falls 25.72 points in April

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): The FBM KLCI closed higher on Monday but fell some 25.72 points in April, as investor sentiment took a beating given rising external and domestic uncertainties.

The FBM KLCI rose 2.81 points to close at 1,570.61 on Monday.

Gainers trailed losers by 297 to 388, while 318 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 945.42 million shares valued at RM1.38 billion.

Asian shares were mixed on Monday as weaker-than-expected U.S. growth data left open the possibility for more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve, but trading was subdued with Japanese and Chinese markets closed, according to Reuters.

At the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.7% to 21,094.21, South Korea added 0.34% to 1,981.99, Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.28% to 7,601.72 while Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 0.26% to 2,973.91.

ON Bursa Malaysia, BAT was the top gainer and rose 74 sen to RM55.54, Aeon Credit added 64 sen to RM10.70, Shell rose 36 sen to RM10.28, Petronas Dagangan 30 sen to RM19.36, Nestle and Panasonic gained 20 sen each to RM55.30 and RM22.70, OSK 15 sen to RM1.71, Tradewinds and Knusford added 14 sen each to RM9.78 and RM1.94, while Toyo Ink gained 12 sen to RM1.53.

Ariantec was the most actively traded counter with 399.1 million shares done. The stock fell one sen to 24.5 sen.

Other actives included Utopia, Metronic, CSL, Astral Supreme, Focus, DRB-Hicom, Bumi Armada and BIMB warrants.

Decliners on Monday included SAM Engineering, Dutch Lady, Petronas Gas, MMHE, Kluang, Dayang Enterprise, Subur Tiasa. UAC and Bumi Armada.



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Prudential Assurance surpasses RM1 billion mark for second year running

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad (PAMB) surpassed the RM1 billion mark for the second year in a row after closing RM1.107 billion in total new business Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) sales which comprised both life insurance and Takaful contributions for the financial year 2011, posting an 8% increase from its performance of RM1.021 billion in 2010.

In a statement Monday, its chief executive officer Charlie Oropeza, attributed the continued success to the high productivity of PAMB’s agency force, an expanding Bancassurance business, strong business mix, continuous product innovation, and service and operational excellence.

He said that 91% of the business was contributed by its agency force, while Bancassurance accounted for 9%.

Oropeza said that PAMB had over 14,000 agents nationwide with Bumiputra agents making up 39% of its total agency force.

Last year, the insurer recruited more than 4,500 new agents, its highest recruitment number in the last 5 years, he said.

Oropeza said PAMB was the fourth largest life insurance business for Prudential in Asia, accounting for 13% of total new business APE sales in Asia for 2011.



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RAM Ratings reaffirms ratings of Al-‘Aqar Capital’s RM300 million sukuk

KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the respective AAA, AA2, AAA(bg) and P1 ratings of Al-‘Aqar Capital Sdn Bhd’s (Al-‘Aqar Capital) Class A Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTN), Class B IMTN, Class C IMTN and Islamic Commercial Papers (ICP) under its RM300 million Sukuk Ijarah Programme;

In a statement Monday, RAM Ratings said all the long-term ratings had a stable outlook.

Al-‘Aqar Capital is a special-purpose vehicle incorporated solely for the acquisition of 11 hospitals (the Hospitals) leased to Al-‘Aqar Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust and operated by KPJ HEALTHCARE BHD [] (KPJ Group or the Group).

RASM Ratings said the reaffirmation of the respective AAA, AA2 and P1 ratings of the Class A IMTN, Class B IMTN and ICP was premised on the debt service coverage as well as loan-to-value ratios that commensurate with the respective ratings, the transaction’s features and the sturdy cashflow generated by the hospital operators.

“Meanwhile, the reaffirmation of the Class C IMTN reflects the enhancement from a bank guarantee provided by Public Bank Berhad, whose AAA/stable/P1 financial institution ratings were reaffirmed by RAM Ratings on June 15, 2011,” it said.

The rating agency said that rental income derived from the Hospitals increased 3.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM48.8 million in FYE 31 December 2011 (FY Dec 2011), i.e. above its stressed lease levels for the respective ratings.

“We note that rental revision takes place every 3 years, and is a function of the yields of 10-year Malaysian government securities and the market values of the Hospitals.

“Nevertheless, we derive comfort from the minimum lease payments under the lease terms which, collectively, are sufficient to cover the semi-annual profit payments to the Sukuk holders,” it said.



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