Stocks to watch: RHB Cap, AirAsia, Masteel, Gamuda

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB CAPITAL BHD [] would likely to see trading interest on Friday, June 24 after MALAYAN BANKING BHD [] and CIMB Group Bhd confirmed they had ended all merger talks with RHB Cap.

Speculation about the Maybank and CIMB Bank’s decision not to go ahead with the talks had sent RHB Cap shares down sharply on Thursday, skidding 57 sen to RM9.03 with 12.37 million shares done.

Companies with fresh corporate news include AIRASIA BHD [] and Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel).

Other stocks which could see trading interest include GAMUDA BHD [] and GLOMAC BHD [] following the announcement of their latest financial results.

AirAsia announced it had placed a firm order with Airbus for 200 A320neo aircraft, which is the largest order for the aircraft manufacturer.

The order makes AirAsia the biggest airline customer for the Airbus single aisle product line worldwide. Altogether, AirAsia has now placed firm orders for 375 A320 Family aircraft, with 89 already in service.

Masteel plans to invest RM100 million in a new rolling mill an annual production capacity of 180,000 tonnes. The new mill would increase its existing rolling mill capacity by 51% to 530,000 tonnes by the second half of 2012.

Masteel’s RM100 million investment in the new rolling mill will be funded by internally generated funds and bank borrowings

Gamuda's net profit for the third quarter ended April 30, 2011 rose 39.6% to RM116.63 million from RM83.53 million a year earlier due to higher contributions from all its divisions.

Revenue rose 21.5% to RM621.20 million from RM511.20 million. Earnings per share were 5.67 sen while net assets per share was RM1.77. It declared a tax-exempt dividend of six sen per share single-tier.

For the nine months ended April 30, Gamuda’s net profit rose 26.7% to RM299.19 million from RM236.19 million on the back of a revenue of RM1.86 billion.

Glomac's net profit rose 19.8% to RM15.05 million in the fourth quarter ended April 30, 2011 from RM12.56 million a year ago, boosted by ongoing sales and progressive recognition of development from several projects.

Revenue rose 52.6% to RM157.75 million from RM103.37 million in 2010. Earnings per share were 5.08 sen, while net assets per share was RM2.04. It proposed gross dividend of five sen per share .

For FY ended April 30, Glomac’s net profit jumped 54.2% to RM63 million from RM40.85 million, while revenue nearly doubled to RM601.49 million from RM316.76 million.