KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 13): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus on Monday (Aug 16) include: MISC Bhd, NWP Holdings Bhd, Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Paramount Corp Bhd, Majuperak Holdings Bhd, Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd, Samaiden Group Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Careplus Group Bhd and KIP Real Estate Investment Trust.

MISC Bhd's net profit jumped 79.9% in the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 to RM538.8 million from RM299.5 million a year earlier, thanks to lower impairment, and improvement in its petroleum shipping and non-shipping businesses. Revenue rose 7.66% to RM2.35 billion from RM2.19 billion, supported by improvement from offshore business and heavy engineering division. The group has approved a second dividend of RM312.5 million or seven sen per share.

NWP Holdings Bhd is looking to diversify into proptech under the leadership of executive director Datuk Seri Nelson Kee, who comes with vast experience in real estate. It also plans to launch a yet-to-be-named app by the end of the year. NWP's proptech model will comprise a hybrid agency, fintech, smart homes and a one-stop solution. The hybrid agency will include lead generation from traditional and digital sources, as well as marketing and selling properties through various conventional and non-traditional methods.

Pentamaster Corp Bhd said it is expecting its highest ever revenue for the year ended Dec 31, 2021, after posting another record topline for the second quarter. Net profit for the April-June quarter rose 5.46% to RM17.94 million from RM17.01 million in the same quarter last year, supported by sales growth across all segments.

Paramount Corp Bhd has completed its first fintech investment by acquiring a 30% stake in Omegaxis Sdn Bhd, the holding company of Peoplender Sdn Bhd, the operator of peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platform Fundaztic. Paramount said its wholly-owned subsidiary Magna Intelligent Sdn Bhd signed an agreement with P2P Venture Sdn Bhd and Omegaxis, for the 30% stake in Omegaxis for RM13.7 million.

Majuperak Holdings Bhd has entered into a land swap deal to dispose of four plots of its land valued at RM100 milllion in Sungai Raya to the Perak State Economic Development Corporation (PKNP) in exchange for three pieces of land valued at RM140 million in Hulu Kinta.

Majuperak said the difference of RM40 million will be deemed as an amount owed by the group to PKNP. Majuperak will issue a promissory note in favour of PKNP with a 12-month maturity from the completion of the agreement, it said.

Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd (Maybulk) posted its second consecutive profitable quarter with a net profit of RM32.06 million in the three months ended June 30, 2021, supported by improved charter rates and redelivery of chartered-in vessels. This compares with a net loss of RM12.7 million a year earlier, as revenue rose 37.28% to RM53.62 million from RM39.06 million.

Samaiden Group Bhd has inked four contracts worth RM22.84 million with Malakoff Corp Bhd for the construction of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems. The construction will take place in Malakoff’s facilities in Melaka, Kedah, Shah Alam and Pahang.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) saw further improvement in passenger volume at its airport in Turkey during July, with 3.02 million passengers versus 2.24 million in June. The improvement represents a return to pre-Covid-19 levels for the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA), which averaged just under 3 million passengers each month in 2019. Meanwhile, the July passenger count in all of MAHB’s Malaysian airports rose to 261,000 from 187,000 in June. This is however 80.1% lower compared with the 1.31 million passengers registered in July last year.

Careplus Group Bhd posted a net profit of RM105.08 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, down nearly 15% from RM123.54 million in the preceding quarter. Quarterly revenue, however, grew marginally by 3.2% to RM249.05 million from RM241.33 million in the Jan-March quarter. Careplus’ net profit jumped 190% year-on-year compared with RM36.21 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, as revenue more than doubled from RM118.9 million.

KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT) plans to undertake a private placement to raise up to RM80.85 million for the group’s future acquisitions. The private placement involves an issuance of up to 101.06 million new units, representing up to 20% of the total number of 505.3 million units issued to the independent investors to be identified at a later date.