Feb 16- Companies in the news AirAsia, AAX, AWC, Tek Seng, TSR Capital, KSTB, BP Plastics and Pharmaniaga

by **Cals** Mon 15 Feb 2016, 22:58

Companies in the news

[size=28]AirAsia, AAX, AWC, Tek Seng, TSR Capital, KSTB, BP Plastics and Pharmaniaga

By Ahmad Naqib Idris / theedgemarkets.com | February 15, 2016 : 10:25 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies likely to be in focus next Tuesday (Feb 16) include AirAsia, AirAsia X (AAX), AWC, Tek Seng, TSR Capital, KSTB, BP Plastics and Pharmaniaga.

AirAsia Bhd saw better operating performance for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (4QFY15), reporting a 12% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its number of passengers to 13.5 million, from 12.1 million in the previous year.

AirAsia said the higher passenger count was ahead of a 6% increase in capacity, despite a lower fleet count of 170 aircraft, compared to 172 aircraft in the previous year.

Malaysia AirAsia recorded the highest load factor for the quarter at 85%, followed by AirAsia India (84%), Thai AirAsia (82%), Philippines AirAsia (81%) and Indonesia AirAsia (80%).

On the other hand, AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) did not perform as well, registering a 9% fall in its passenger count to 0.99 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (4QFY15), from 1.09 million in the previous year (4QFY14).

The decline was in line with a 10% reduction in capacity to 1.19 million, from 1.33 million last year.

The company said the reduction in capacity was due to its route consolidation exercise which saw the termination of routes to Narita, Nagoya and Adelaide, while its Colombo and Chongqing routes were shifted to A320 operations.

The lower capacity resulted in a better load factor of 83% for the quarter, compared to 81% in the previous year, despite higher average base fare compared to 4QFY14.

AWC Bhd has secured a maintenance subcontract worth RM90 million over the span of five years for the newly-completed Shah Alam Hospital, from the Government of Malaysia.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the company said a tender has been submitted by the facilities division for the project and that AWC has, on today's date, accepted and returned the Government of Malaysia's letter of acceptance of tender.

AWC said the subcontract is effective March 1 this year and will end on Feb 28, 2021.

"The subcontract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings of the AWC Group over the duration of the subcontract," the management said.

Tek Seng Holdings Bhd continued to benefit from its diversification into solar cell making during the fourth quarter of the year ended Dec 31, 2015 (4QFY15), recording a net profit of RM10.41 million or 4.02 sen per share, compared to a net loss of 513,000 or 0.21 sen per share a year ago.

This comes after the company, whose traditional activity is PVC products manufacturing, reported a near threefold jump in net profit for 3QFY15, on higher revenue that came primarily from the solar segment.

In a statement today to Bursa Malaysia, Tek Seng said 4QFY15 revenue also saw a significant rise of 2.5 times to RM122.36 million, from RM49 million in the previous corresponding period, with contribution from the solar segment accounting for 67.9%.

For the full FY15, Tek Seng posted a net profit of RM21.27 million or 8.51 sen per share, a 76.1% jump over the RM12.08 or 5.03 sen per share reported a year ago. Revenue came in 54.9% higher at RM359.52 million, from RM232.11 million in FY14.

TSR Capital Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary TSR Bina Sdn Bhd has secured a contract from Putrajaya Homes Sdn Bhd for the construction of condominiums for total value of RM240 million.

In a statement, TSR said the contract entails the construction and completion of two blocks of 19-storey and 18-storey condominiums, two blocks of multilevel carpark blocks, common facilities, drainage and retention pond, piling works and associated infrastructure and landscape works.

The group said the project is for a duration of 36 months, with completion expected by February 2019.

“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the board of directors of TSR is of the opinion that the project will contribute positively to the earnings of the group for the financial years ending 2016 through 2019,” it said.

Kejuruteraan Samudra Timur Bhd (KSTB) has bagged a contract from Lundin Malaysia BV to provide oil country tubular goods inspection services.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, KSTB said its wholly owned subsidiary Samudra Timur Sdn Bhd was awarded the contract by Lundin today.

The contract is for a primary duration of two years, with an extension option of one year, from Sept 15, 2015.

KSTB said it could not disclose the contract value, as "such services depend on the demand and activity levels of Lundin and the scope of services rendered by Samudra Timur during the duration of the contract".

"The price and rates for each type of inspection services are stipulated in a schedule accompanying the contract," it added.

BP Plastics Holding Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (4QFY15) surged 264% to RM8.3 million, from RM2.28 million, mainly attributable to higher sales volume with better product mix, higher process efficiencies and a weaker ringgit.

Its 4QFY15 revenue gained 16.34% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM81.07 million, from RM69.68 million.

According to the filing with Bursa Malaysia, BP Plastics has proposed a second interim dividend of three sen, payable on March 17. The ex-date and entitlement date fall on March 1 and March 3. This will bring its full year dividend to eight sen.

For the full year, BP Plastics' net profit climbed 119.3% to RM22.08 million, from RM10.07 million a year ago, due to lower raw material costs, favourable foreign exchange gained from export sales arising from a weaker ringgit, better product mix and higher process efficiencies.

Revenue was almost flat at RM283.46 million, compared with RM283.96 million.

Pharmaniaga Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (4QFY15) plummet 56.23% to RM16.06 million or 6.20 sen per share, from RM36.70 million or 14.18 sen a share a year ago.

The healthcare provider blamed the drop on increased promotional activities, research and development expenses, higher selling and distribution, as well as amortisation for the Pharmacy Information System.

Revenue for the quarter was 8.46% higher at RM680.15 million against RM627.10 million for 4QFY14.

For the full financial year 2015, Pharmaniaga's net profit dropped 10.44% to RM84.04 million or 32.46 sen per share, from RM93.84 million or 36.25 sen per share in FY14.

Revenue for the 12 months rose 3.3% to RM2.19 billion, compared to RM2.12 billion in FY14, mainly driven by stronger contributions from private sector business and the group’s overseas operations, it said.

The company declared a dividend of 7 sen per share, bringing the total payout for the year to 30 sen per share, as against 28 sen for FY14.
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