Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): Based on corporate announcements and newsflow today, stocks in focus tomorrow could include Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC), Dagang Nexchange Bhd, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV), Paramount Corp Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) and Alam Maritim Resources Bhd.

Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSC) (fundamental: 0.7; valuation: 0.6) posted a net loss of RM9.87 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14), compared with a net profit of RM16.78 million in FY13.

Revenue however, was up 21.1% to RM1.92 billion, from RM1.58 billion in FY13. It posted a loss per share of 9.9 sen, versus an earnings per share of 16.8 sen a in FY13.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), MSC posted a net loss of RM511,000, compared with a net profit of RM28.94 million a year ago.

However, revenue for 4QFY14 rose 56.3% to RM525.44 million, from RM336.17 million a year ago. Loss per share was 0.5 sen, compared with an earnings per share of 28.9 sen in 4QFY13.

Dagang Nexchange Bhd returned to black with a net profit of RM4.27 million in its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), versus a net loss of RM8.38 million in 4QFY13, giving it an earnings per share (EPS) of 0.55 sen, compared to a loss per share (LPS) of 1.08 sen previously.

Revenue for the quarter under review was up 28.92% to RM25.95 million, from RM20.13 million in 4QFY13.

Dagang Nexchange (fundamental: 1.85; valuation: 0.3) told Bursa Malaysia that its improved financials was due to higher revenue and better cost management initiatives.

For the full year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14), Dagang Nexchange recorded a net profit of RM12.22 million — a sharp turnaround from its net loss of RM5.97 million in the last financial year; revenue for FY14 was at RM86.8 million — a marginal 1.17% rise from RM85.8 million in FY13.

Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) saw a 96% plunge in its net profit to RM20.21 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), from RM499.92 million a year ago, on the back of weak global market sentiment, low energy prices and a weakening ringgit against the greenback.

Nevertheless, it rebounded from a net loss of RM9.33 million in 3QFY14, which was the weakest quarter for the group in 2014.

Revenue for 4QFY14 rose 17% to RM4.3 billion, from RM3.67 billion a year ago. Earnings per share (EPS) for 4QFY14 fell to 0.6 sen per share, from 13.7 sen per share a year ago.

FGV (fundamental: 2.1; valuation: 1.8) also recommended a final dividend of 4 sen per share, totalling RM145.93 million, for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14), subject to approval of shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting. This would bring its total dividend payout for the year to 10 sen per share.

For FY14, FGV saw a 68.8% drop in net profit to RM306.37 million, from RM982.25 million in FY13; while revenue climbed 30.8% to RM16.43 billion, from RM12.57 billion.

Paramount Corp Bhd (fundamental: 1.6; valuation:3)’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14) fell 29.66% to RM10.1 million, from RM14.4 million in the previous corresponding quarter, due to lower earnings from both its property and education divisions.

This is despite its revenue for the quarter under review increasing 16.4% to RM157.66 million, from RM135.44 million in 4QFY13, which it attributed to higher progressive billings in its property development segment, its filing to Bursa Malaysia today showed.

The weaker financials notwithstanding, the group proposed a single-tier final dividend of 5 sen for the financial period ended Dec 31, 2015, subject to shareholder’s approval.

Meanwhile, its net profit for the cumulative 12 months (FY14) was RM62.47 million, up 16.77% from RM53.5 million in FY13, due to higher PBT recorded in its property division on higher progressive billings on its ongoing projects, and a one-off RM7.3 million gain on the disposal of its 6-acre land in Bandar Laguna Merbok for the development of a hypermarket.

Its FY14 revenue was largely flat at RM510.04 million, versus RM512.07 million in FY13.

Poultry group Lay Hong Bhd saw its net profit multiply by six to RM6.3 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (3QFY15), from RM1.05 million in the same period last year, following better earnings from its integrated livestock farming and retail supermarket segments, as well as stable raw material prices.

The significantly higher profit came on the back of RM177.15 million in revenue — up 21.3% from RM145.96 million recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.

For the cumulative nine-month period (9MFY15), Lay Hong registered a net profit of RM14.15 million — also a six-fold increase from the RM2.1 million it saw in the first nine months of last year (9MFY14). This came on the back of a 16% improvement in revenue to RM500.17 million for 9MFY15.

Consequently, basic earnings per share (EPS) for 3QFY15 grew to 12.48 sen, against 2.11 sen in 3QFY14. The 9MFY15 EPS came in at 28.28 sen, versus 4.25 in 9MFY14.

AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) saw its net loss widening 27% to RM168.42 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, from RM132.6 million in the previous year’s same quarter.

However, the budget airline’s revenue rose 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM819.27 million, from RM680 million.

For the financial year, AAX’s (fundamental: 0; valuation: 0.3) net loss grew sixfold to RM519.35 million, from RM88.27 million a year earlier; while revenue climbed 27% to RM2.94 billion, from RM2.31 billion.

Alam Maritim Resources Bhd announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Alam Maritim (M) Sdn Bhd has bagged an accommodation work barge contract from ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc, worth RM9.92 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Alam Maritim (fundamental: 1.6; valuation: 1.2) said the contract is for time charter of Setia Station 2, for three months effective January 31, 2015.

It said the contract should contribute positively to its earnings and net tangible assets for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15).

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)

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