KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 8): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies in focus on Thursday (Nov 9) may include: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, Red Ideas Holdings Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd, LBS Bina Group Bhd, Goh Ban Huat Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, UEM Edgenta Bhd, Eco World International Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd is expecting to see improvement in both revenue and profit in its financial year ending Sept 30, 2018 (FY18), as its capacity-building and cost reduction measures initiated this year is near completion.
Chief executive officer Lim Yew Hoe said the consumer products manufacturer hopes to at least hit its FY16 bottomline figures after the group successfully digested the upswing in commodity and sugar prices this year through various transformation programmes.
F&N saw net profit decline 16.09% to RM323.38 million in FY17, from RM385.37 million, dragged mainly by one-off restructuring costs totalling RM48.4 million, comprising mostly of voluntary separation scheme costs incurred when rescaling its workforce. Operating profit declined 20.4% to RM345.1 million.
Mah Sing Group Bhd said construction of its RM937 million D'sara Sentral mixed development here is ahead of schedule by 12 to 15 months, after the project clocked over four million safe man-hours without any lost time injury.
D'sara Sentral comprises five residential towers, namely the SoVo SA1, SA2, SB1 and OLO Residence, as well as a four-storey retail area. Launched in 2014, D'sara Sentral currently has an over 80% take-up rate, according to Mah Sing group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum.
The topping out ceremony marks the 99% completion rate for D'sara Sentral's retail, SoVo, SA1 and SA2 components, he added. These components are targeted for completion as early as the second quarter of 2018.
Home-grown technology-based company Red Ideas Holdings Bhd, which develops the private community platform Graaab JaGaApp, made an impressive debut on the Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) Market today.
Red Ideas had raised RM7 million via a private placement of 20 million shares at an issue price of 35 sen per share to selected investors.
Of the total placement proceeds, RM4.15 million (59.3%) will be used mainly for general working capital to finance the company’s day-to-day operations, including working capital requirements.
A sum of RM1 million (14.3%) will go towards research and development of its existing and new products in terms of both software and proprietary hardware, while a similar sum will be used for office expenses and renovation and to set up new branch offices.
RHB Bank Bhd is digitising its mortgage application by enabling applicants to file their application through their smartphone.
RHB's group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said the mobile application, dubbed RHB MyHome App, is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia finance industry. It is to provide the convenience of mortgages applications and documents submissions via mobile devices.
The app enables RHB customers to apply for home financing and submits their documents online, as well as to check their application status. It also provides customers easy and quick access to information on financing options under RHB that are available to them, pricing, eligibility, and rates.
LBS Bina Group Bhd’s latest township project Alam Perdana in Puncak Alam, Selangor will be launched this weekend.
The developer is confident that phase 1 will be fully taken up within six months of the launch, according to group managing director Tan Sri Lim Hock San.
Located in Ijok, Alam Perdana is a 470-acre leasehold township development that will be developed over eight phases. It has a GDV of RM2.7 billion.
The first phase of Alam Perdana comprises Simfoni Perdana and Irama Perdana homes will be open for sale this weekend.
Simfoni Perdana offers 980 units of 2-storey townhouses with a unit built-up size of 1,191 sq ft. The selling price starts from RM368,000 while Irama Perdana consists of 673 units of 2-storey terrace houses with an average built-up size of 1,208 sq ft and priced from RM479,900.
More than a month after selling a 51% stake in Goh Ban Huat Bhd (GBH) to Paragon Adventure Sdn Bhd, Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon is resigning as the group's non-independent and non-executive chairman.
Tan, who has been chairman of the ceramic and sanitary ware company since 2010, is relinquishing his position due to the change in the controlling shareholder, GBH said in its filing with the stock exchange.
However, the tycoon still holds a 12.82% equity interest in the company and 24.83% of its outstanding warrants, GBH said.
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) said its net profit fell 8.7% to RM36.24 million for its first financial quarter ended Sept 30, 2017, from RM39.72 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher material cost arising and higher commodity price.
However, quarterly revenue inched up 8.3% to RM387.63 million from RM358 million.
MPI has declared a higher first interim single tier dividend of 10 sen per share to be paid on Dec 8, compared with 8 sen previously.
UEM Edgenta Bhd is claiming RM23.76 million in damages from another firm in relation to two road construction and upgrading jobs.
UEM Edgenta said its wholly-owned subsidiary Edgenta Propel Bhd (Propel) is demanding the amount from Hartajaya-Benteng Timur-AMR Jeli JV Sdn Bhd (HBT), following a court decision on the matter on Aug 29.
UEM Edgenta said that between Aug 2009 and June 2010, HBT awarded two contracts to Edgenta Propel, comprising construction of a new expressway from Seremban-Port Dickson-FR5, and upgrading the road from FR5 from Pasir Panjang to Linggi, Negeri Sembilan.
Later, Edgenta Propel decided to halt work under the contracts due to non-payment by HBT of the outstanding contracts sum of RM16.12 million and RM6.41 million respectively.
Eco World International Bhd (EWI) is partnering renowned UK construction firm Willmott Dixon to jointly develop 12 sites in Greater London and the South East of England.
In a statement, EWI announced that it has inked a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Willmott Dixon today to acquire a 70% equity interest in 11 project sites there.
The sites, said EWI, will have a capacity of 6,700 residential units with a potential gross development value (GDV) of at least £2.5 billion (RM13.86 billion) — over 5.54 times the developer’s market capitalisation of RM2.5 billion.
Combined, EWI said the agreements could increase EWI’s UK presence fourfold. EWI currently has an ongoing development of 2,500 high-end residential units in Prime Central London under another joint venture with another developer, Ballymore Group.
Sime Darby Bhd has incorporated Tractors Singapore (Maldives) Private Ltd (TSMPL), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby, in the Republic of Maldives on Wednesday (Nov 1) as a limited company.
In a bourse filing, the certificate of registration was issued by the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Economic Development, Government of the Republic of Maldives.
The certificate was then received by Tractors Singapore Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby, on Nov 7.
The share capital of TSMPL of MVR2,000 (equivalent to RM548.97), comprising 2,000 ordinary shares, is held by Tractors Singapore Ltd (99%) and Sime Darby Eastern Ltd (1%), indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of Sime Darby.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/fn-mah-sing-red-ideas-rhb-lbs-bina-goh-ban-huat-malaysian-pacific-industries-uem-edgenta-eco
