Stocks to watch: Cypark, Muhibbah, Ingress, MMC

KUALA LUMPUR: With the FBM KLCI closing at 1,570 on Tuesday, June 28, can the 30-stock index cross the historic high of 1,574.49 scaled on Jan 17 this year before the market came off?

The gains on Bursa Malaysia were driven by CIMB, whose 23 sen gain to close at RM8.98 pushed the index up by a hefty 3.97 points. GENTING BHD []’s gain of 20 sen to RM11.18 added another 1.72 points to the index.

MSM Holdings Bhd was the star of the day, jumping RM1.39 or 39.7% to close at RM4.89 with 101.92 million shares done on its trading debut.

Can investors expect some profit taking to set in after the stellar performance?

MSM’s institutional price was fixed at RM3.50 and for retail investors at RM3.38 per share after the book-building exercise. AmResearch has valued MSM at RM4.53 per share while RHB Research Institute had accorded a fair value of RM4.90 to the shares.

Other stocks to watch are CypARK RESOURCES BHD [], MUHIBBAH ENGINEERING (M) BHD [], INGRESS CORPORATION BHD [], MMC Corp Bhd and ALIRAN IHSAN RESOURCES BHD [] (AIRB).

Cypark Resources Bhd posted net profit of RM6.22 million in the second quarter ended April 30, 2011 on the back of RM40.98 million in revenue. Earnings per share were 4.0 sen. The second quarter revenue was about RM1.6 million lower than in the first quarter.

It said the second quarter revenue was generated mainly from the second phase of the national landfill restoration projects and foundation works for the leachate treatment plans.

Muhibbah said it believes it will not have to write down RM300 million in outstanding payments due from its major client Asia Petroleum Hub (APH), which was reported to be in receivership.

Muhibbah managing director Mac Ngan Boon said APH was actively speaking to potential investors and hoped for a resolution "soonest". He added: "We do not believe there will be a write down. We believe there are other solutions.”

To recap, APH is the developer and operator of the APH oil terminal in Johor and had awarded Muhibbah the marine piling and jetty works worth RM820 million.

The Horizon Growth Fund NV of Curacao in the Caribbean has emerged as a substantial shareholder in Ingress Corp Bhd with 5.089 million shares or 6.6%.

Meanwhile, Ingress reported net profit for the first quarter ended April 30, 2011 fell 34% to RM6.94 million from RM10.47 million a year earlier, due to a one time gain on disposal of shares totaling RM7.6 million included in 1Q 2010 net profit.

Revenue for the quarter slipped to RM175.07 million from RM180.41 million in 2010. Earnings per share were 9 sen, while net assets per share was RM2.08. It expects its automotive division to further improve during the financial year.

Aliran Ihsan Resources is teaming up with MMC Corp Bhd to bid for the proposed Bertam DAF phase 2 water treatment plant in Durian Tunggal, Melaka.

The JV involves AIRB’s unit Southern Water TECHNOLOGY [] Sdn Bhd and MMC’s unit MMC Engineering Services Sdn Bhd.

Water-related and pipe manufacturers could see trading interest after the government proposed to have an inter-state piped water system to channel raw water between states.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said the system would enable the transfer of water to the drought-affected states. He added that it would also be a long-term solution to the water supply shortage in various states.

SIG Gases Bhd inked an MoU with Japan-based Iwatani Corporation Bhd (IC) to establish a partnership to set up a helium refilling plant in Southern Industrial Gas plant in Senai, Johor.

Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad (MGRC) has launched a range of comprehensive genetic screening services, as well as an all-in-one test for a multitude of infectious diseases.

The company, which specialises in genome sequencing and analysis services, said on Tuesday, June 28 the services would be available through hospitals and other primary care centres around Malaysia.

IRIS CORPORATION BHD [] expects to raise gross proceeds of RM25.52 million from a proposed private placement exercise of up to 10% of its paid-up share capital. It plans to use RM25.37 million of the proceeds as working capital and the remaining RM150,000 as estimated expenses relating to the proposed private placement.

Iris said the RM25.52 million in proceeds would be based on an indicative issue price of 15 sen per placement share.