Asia Media, Berjaya Assets, Capital A, Dialog, Duopharma, IOI Corp, MSM, SDP, SimeProp, TNB and Tropicana

Asia Media, Berjaya Assets, Capital A, Dialog, Duopharma, IOI Corp, MSM, SDP, SimeProp, TNB and Tropicana

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Based on corporate announcements and news flow on Tuesday, companies in focus on Wednesday (Feb 16) may include: Asia Media Group Bhd, Berjaya Assets Bhd, Capital A Bhd, Dialog Group Bhd, Duopharma Biotech Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd, MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd (MSM), Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP), Sime Darby Property Bhd (SimeProp), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Tropicana Corp Bhd.

Asia Media Group Bhd, a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company, will collaborate with Setia Media Sdn Bhd to carry out the PJ Smart Gateway Project as part of plans to expand the group's digital advertising services into the out-of-home market segment. Asia Media did not disclose the project value.

Berjaya Assets Bhd's net loss narrowed to RM1.97 million for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, from RM13.27 million a year prior, thanks to lower impairment of receivables recorded by its property investment, hotel and recreation business segments. Loss per share came down to 0.08 sen from 0.52 sen, while quarterly revenue slipped 5.83% to RM41.38 million, from RM43.95 million a year earlier, primarily due to lower contributions from the group's gaming and property investment business segments.

Capital A Bhd is raising more than RM400 million in capital for its engineering arm, Asia Digital Engineering, which plans to build maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The 380,000 sq ft facility will commence in mid-2022 and is expected to be completed within two years.

Dialog Group Bhd managed to post a 4.98% improvement in its net profit to RM127.88 million for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, from RM121.81 million a year earlier, amid higher project cost. Earnings per share grew to 2.27 sen from 2.16 sen. Quarterly revenue was 55.1% higher at RM544.49 million, compared with RM350.95 million previously.

Duopharma Biotech Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 slipped 2.94% to RM15.72 million from RM16.19 million a year ago because of higher costs. Earnings per share dropped to 1.67 sen from 1.72 sen. Quarterly revenue rose 8.47% to RM145.44 million from RM134.09 million a year ago. The group has declared a second interim dividend of 1.8 sen per share.

IOI Corp Bhd has paused its months-long share-buyback activities amid the gradual rise in share prices on the back of the boom in crude palm oil prices. A bourse filing showed that IOI last purchased its own shares at the end of 2021, at prices of between RM3.59 and RM3.78, ending a buyback streak that had lasted since April 2021, when it bought back 50.7 million shares.

MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd and Wilmar Sugar Pte Ltd have signed an agreement to collaborate in the establishment of a sustainable sugar supply chain. MSM said the sustainable sugar programme comes on the heels of Wilmar Sugar’s parent company, Wilmar International Ltd, launching its “No Deforestation, No People Exploitation (NDPE) Sugar Policy” in September 2021.

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) announced several changes and improvements to its governance structures, policies and procedures, which include the planned reimbursement of recruitment fees to the oil palm plantation group's current foreign workers and the establishment of an improved responsible recruitment procedure to ensure SDP's operations are free of the scourge of forced labour.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research has initiated coverage of Sime Darby Property Bhd (SimeProp) with a “buy” rating at 59.5 sen and a target price of 78 sen. The research house said SimeProp is currently the largest listed property counter by land bank size in Malaysia and is well positioned to capture demand once the market rebounds, given its pipeline of developments located in growth areas strategically connected to major highways.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd said it has been notified by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) of the board's notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal over the RM1.81 billion tax claim against the utilities group. TNB said the appellate court has fixed March 28 for case management.

Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has revised the outlook for Tropicana Corp Bhd’s RM1.5 billion sukuk wakalah and RM2 billion perpetual sukuk programmes to “negative” from “stable”, while maintaining the A+IS and A/S ratings. The revised outlook reflects MARC’s increasing concern over the rise in Tropicana's borrowings, which stood at RM4.5 billion (including the outstanding perpetual sukuk) as at end-September 2021, from RM2.8 billion when the initial rating was assigned in April 2020.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/asia-media-berjaya-assets-capital-dialog-duopharma-ioi-corp-msm-sdp-simeprop-tnb-and