KUALA LUMPUR (April 26): Here is a brief look at some corporate announcements and news flow on Tuesday (April 26), involving Malayan Flour Mills Bhd (MFM), Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), Bintai Kinden Corporation Bhd, Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd, Westports Holdings Bhd, KPower Bhd, Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB), Thong Guan Industries Bhd, Parkson Holdings Bhd, Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP), Comintel Corp Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, AmFIRST Real Estate Investment Trust ( AmFIRST REIT), Kelington Group Bhd and Globetronics Technology Bhd.
Malayan Flour Mills Bhd (MFM) said the wheat flour milling company is working on a price adjustment proposal among several measures to mitigate business uncertainties due to volatile commodity prices, as the global economy contends with the lingering impact of Covid-19-driven movement restrictions. Its chairman Tun Arshad Ayub said the group is also mindful of the effects from the ongoing Ukraine geopolitical situation and the potential unfavourable impact of global weather on its business.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is to issue a combined RM800 million worth of Islamic medium-term notes (IMTN) on Wednesday, according to updates on the Bond and Sukuk Information Exchange’s (BIX) website. The IMTN will be issued in two tranches under the group’s RM5 billion sukuk wakalah programme.
Bintai Kinden Corporation Bhd has secured a series of subcontract projects worth RM1.6 million from Petro Flanges & Fittings Sdn Bhd (PFF). Bintai Kinden said the contracts were awarded to its subsidiary Bintai Energy Sdn Bhd to supply piping materials to established oil and gas related companies in Malaysia. It said the job scope encompasses supplying pipes, valves, fittings and flanges for onshore and offshore pipeline projects.
Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 grew 17.14% to RM205.18 million from RM175.16 million a year earlier, underpinned by stronger sales, coupled with lower Covid-19 related expenses. The improved results were achieved despite the impact of increased commodity prices, as well as the impact of Cukai Makmur (the prosperity tax).
Westports Holdings Bhd saw its net profit fall 27.1% to RM151.85 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1QFY22) from RM208.32 million a year ago, no thanks to the one-off prosperity tax in 2022, and the absence of other income of RM20 million recognised in 1QFY21 that was part of a progressive insurance reimbursement for a 2019 vessel incident. This was despite revenue for the quarter rising 1.6% to RM516.36 million from RM508.16 million in 1QFY21, primarily driven by growth in container revenue, particularly value-added services.
KPower Bhd has proposed to acquire the entire stake in hydro power plant developer One River Power for RM130 million, to be satisfied via a combination of cash and issuance of new shares in the group. The group, which recently proposed to change its corporate identity, said its wholly-owned subsidiary KPower RE Sdn Bhd had entered into an agreement with Pristine Falcon Sdn Bhd for the acquisition. One River Power is principally involved in the development of three hydro power plants based in Sabah, with a total combined power generation of 29.1 megawatt.
Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) intends to invest about RM250 million in capital expenditure for the next five years, following its partnership with Beijing
Wodong Tianjun Information Technology Co Ltd (JD.com) to develop an omnichannel business model in Malaysia. CHHB managing director Datuk Jared Lim said the group had allocated RM50 million funding for the initial expenditure of the first flagship physical store, spanning 150,000 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor of the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC).
Kedah-based plastic packaging products maker Thong Guan Industries Bhd, which saw its revenue surpass the RM1 billion mark for the first time last year, aims to at least double its annual revenue to reach RM2 billion by the end of 2027. To get there, executive director Alvin Ang See Ming says the group has laid out a six-year (2021-2026) expansion plan to ramp up production capacity at its new 16-acre manufacturing and office complex in Sungai Petani.
Parkson Holdings Bhd chairman Tan Sri William Cheng said the retail group, which has seen the number of owned and managed stores shrink to 85 from 102, remains positive about its China retail operations’ prospects, although Covid-19 containment measures and inflationary pressures remain a concern for the group’s Southeast Asian business.
Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd, which distributes Mercedes-Benz cars in Malaysia, said its first quarter net profit more than doubled to RM8.55 million from RM3.39 million a year earlier, as revenue rose on higher vehicle sales volume, helped by Malaysia’s sales tax reduction which supported consumer demand for cars. Revenue rose to RM300.02 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, from RM292.83 million.
Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) on Tuesday submitted a comprehensive report to the US Customs and Border Protection over forced labour claims against the planter. SDP said the report included a detailed assessment of its Malaysian operations mapped against each of the International Labour Organisation forced labour indicators; an in-depth description of improved governance structures and management systems; copies of policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures; details of facilities at SDP’s operating units; corresponding supporting evidence; and independent reports from third party consultants appointed by SDP to assess various aspects of its operations.
Comintel Corp Bhd has bagged a subcontract worth RM33.78 million relating to the construction of an office and training centre for a government department. The company said the job awarded by Pertama Makmur Sdn Bhd includes builder works and mechanical works.
A sharp 121% increase in windfall tax of RM20.4 million reduced United Plantations Bhd‘s net profit by a fifth to RM59.69 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, from RM74.83 million in the year-ago period.
Quarterly revenue, however, increased 60.87% to RM642.91 million from RM399.65 million, due to revenue increases in the plantation and refinery segments.
AmFIRST Real Estate Investment Trust (AmFIRST REIT) is booking a fair value loss of RM21.99 million following the revaluation of several properties, in line with regulatory requirements. Wisma AmFIRST reported the largest revaluation deficit at RM4.62 million, followed by Prima 10 (RM3.83 million), Jaya 99 (3.8 million), Mydin Hypermall (RM3.1 million), Menara AmFIRST (RM1.6 million), The Summit Subang USJ (RM1.44 million) and Prima 9 (RM188,798). On the other hand, Bangunan AmBank Group and Menara Ambank reported revaluation surpluses of RM500,000 and RM227,921 respectively.
Kelington Group Bhd said the group has accepted a letter of intent for an onsite industrial gases supply scheme with an expected revenue of RM180 million over a 10-year period. Kelington did not name the client but said it is “one of the largest optoelectronics semiconductor companies in the world”.
Globetronics Technology Bhd said its net profit fell 24.65% to RM9.45 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, from RM12.54 million a year earlier, due to lower volume loadings. Revenue dropped 23.04% to RM42.63 million from RM55.4 million. The group attributed the lower sales and net profit to lower volume loadings from some of the group’s customers and a drop in economies of scale.
