march 4th - Stocks To Watch Plantations, LTKM, Pintaras, Focus Dynamics, FGV, Spritzer, Sarawak counters, Selangor Properties

Stocks To Watch Plantations, LTKM, Pintaras, Focus Dynamics, FGV, Spritzer, Sarawak counters, Selangor Properties
Business & Markets 2014
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Monday, 03 March 2014 19:07

KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 3): Based on news flow and corporate announcements up to 6.30 pm today, the stocks that may attract attention tomorrow include the following:

Based on news flow and corporate announcements up to 6.30 pm today, the stocks that may attract attention tomorrow include the following:

Plantation counters may stir interest as world famous edible oil experts and analysts are expected to give their views on the fundamentals and price outlook for crude palm oil (CPO) for the short and long term.

Trader Dorab Mistry and Dr James Fry will be speaking at the 3-day Palm & Lauric Oils Conference & Exhibition 2014 (POC2014), which starts today in Kuala Lumpur. Mistry will be one of the panellists tomorrow morning.

Jointly organised by Bursa Malaysia and CME Group, the POC2014 will see Mistry, a director of Godrej International Ltd and James Fry, chairman of LMC International Ltd share their insights on the palm oil industry and their projections.

Other experts include Oil World Executive Director Thomas Mielke and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council’s CEO Tan Sri Datuk Dr Yusof Basiron, as well as other industry captains.

LTKM Bhd plans to pay a single-tier interim dividend of 8% which translates into eight sen a share.

The shares of the chicken egg producer will trade ex-dividend on March 14, 2014.

LTKM's dividend follows the announcement of the company's stronger financials. Last month, LTKM said net profit rose to RM5.7 million in the third quarter ended December 31, 2013, from RM2 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed to RM47.2 million from RM40.7 million.

Nine-month net profit increased to RM16.9 million from RM4 million a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM133.3 million versus RM114.3 million.

Pintaras Jaya Bhd has secured a RM24 million contract to undertake piling works for a proposed office building project at the Federal government administrative centre in Putrajaya.

The firm involved in piling and earth works said its wholly-owned subsidiary Pintaras Geotechnics Sdn Bhd had today received a letter of acceptance from Pembinaan Mitrajaya Sdn Bhd for the project.

“The contract is expected to contribute positively to group's future earnings,” said Pintaras.

The contract will commence on March 10 this year with a completion period of six months.

Focus Dynamics Technologies Bhd today proposed a renounceable rights issue of three rights shares for every three ordinary shares held, together with two warrants for every three rights shares subscribed.

The company said it would utilise RM3.10 million of the proceeds for the repayment of bank borrowings.

As at Dec 31, 2013, the group’s total borrowings amounted to RM4.93 million.

“In the event that the actual expense is less than the allocated amount, the excess allocated amount shall be utilised as working capital for the Focus group,” it said.

Focus Dynamics Technologies is involved in engineering services, manufacturing and food and beverage (F&B).

Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is eyeing brownfield plantation acquisitions, which include UK-listed Asian Plantations Ltd.

“The company wishes to state that we are evaluating several potential brownfield plantations, not limited to Asian Plantations Ltd. However, nothing conclusive has been decided at this juncture,” FGV said in response to a news report.

Asian Plantations is based in Singapore. The firm's Malaysian subsidiaries buy and develop oil palm plantation land in Sarawak.

Meanwhile, a Bernama news report said Pakistan was in negotiations with Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) to open large-scale oil palm estates in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

Malaysia's interest in large-scale oil palm plantations in Pakistan would definitely help save millions of dollars spent on edible oil imports annually, the Associated Press of Pakistan was quoted as reporting.

The report said 3,237 hectares (8,000 acres) of land in Sindh and nearly the same size along the coastal areas of Balochistan would be brought under oil palm cultivation in the near future.

Spritzer Bhd, which is seeing brisk sales amid water rationing in the Klang Valley, expects this to bode well for the company's financials in the current year ending May 31.

Executive director Dr Chuah Chaw Teo says following weaker results in the second quarter ended November 30, 2013 (2QFY14), Spritzer is expecting higher sales of its products to be reflected in 3QFY14.

"It will definitely bode well for our financial performance," Chuah told theedgemalaysia.com over telephone today. "We expect to sustain last year's (FY13) profit," Chuah said.

He says Spritzer has raised the utilisation rate of its production facilities by 15% to 20% to cater to higher demand for its products.

Spritzer is expecting consumers to stock up on bottled water due to the current water rationing. "The dry weather is also expected to help sales as consumption tends to increase during hot weather," Chuah said.

Sarawak counters may be in focus after news today that the new state Chief Minister (CM) Tan Sri Adenan Satem now holds the Finance as well as Resource Planning and Environment portfolios.

This may mean that there is no change to the policies formulated under the previous CM’s rule. Before this, there were jitters that key counters linked to the family of former CM Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud might get fewer government contracts.

Adenan said he no longer held the position of special functions minister in a minor cabinet reshuffle, effective March 1.

When asked why there were no major changes in the state cabinet line-up, Adenan said all ministers “had performed their jobs well”.

"As I said earlier...when you are on to something good, you stick to it. We are heading for the right direction, why need changes?" he said during a press conference at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building.

Selangor Properties Berhad sells land for RM450 million. Please read separate story on this.