April 18th - Stocks To Watch Nestle, Salcon, MMC, AZRB, Bursa, Kian Joo, Box-Pak, Edaran, Asiabio, KLCCP

by **Cals** Fri 18 Apr 2014, 02:38

Stocks To Watch Nestle, Salcon, MMC, AZRB, Bursa, Kian Joo, Box-Pak, Edaran, Asiabio, KLCCP

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com

Thursday, 17 April 2014 18:52

KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): Based on corporate events and announcements today, the companies that may be in focus tomorrow are:

Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit was negatively flat at RM183.5 million in the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2014, compared to RM184.4 million in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

Revenue rose 3.7% year-on-year to RM1.27 billion from RM1.23 billion.

The manufacturer of cereal, milk products and beverages noted there were investments in marketing and promotional activities linked to the Nestlé "Lebih Kebaikan, Lebih Nilai" campaign.

But a lower tax expense, however, offset the shortfall, thus resulting in a flat net profit for the quarter against the same quarter last year.

“We remain cautiously optimistic for the remaining of 2014. The external environment is showing some signs of recovery in the developed world while the emerging markets economies are still experiencing volatility,” said Nestle.

Salcon Bhd, MMC Corp Bhd and Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (AZRB) announced that their joint venture company has received the letter of acceptance from official body Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd for the Langat 2 water-treatment plant and reticulation contract worth RM993.9 million.

Separate statements by Salcon, MMC and AZRB said, Salcon Engineering Bhd, a subsidiary of Salcon, holds a 36% stake in the JV, while MMC takes up 34%. Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd, which is a subsidiary of AZRB, owns a 30% stake.

The contract, for a duration of 36 months, entails the construction and completion of phase one of the Langat 2 water-treatment plant and reticulation system in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Salcon, MMC and AZRB said the project is expected to contribute positively to their earnings.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd reported an 18% rise in first quarter net profit on higher equity-trading income.

Bursa said group net profit rose to RM45.1 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 from RM38.2 million a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM123.2 million versus RM110.4 million.

"The higher profit was mainly due to higher trading value on securities market in 1Q14 compared to 1Q13," Bursa said.

According to Bursa, securities-market revenue rose 21% "mainly due to trading revenue, and listing and issuer services".

Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd and Box-Pak (M) Bhd, a subsidiary of Kian Joo, may see trading interest after Datuk Anthony See, executive director of Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd (KJCF), declared he has changed his mind and is now against the sale of KJCF to Aspire Insight.

KJCF announced: “Datuk Anthony See Teow Guan has declared that he is now against the proposed disposal. Datuk Anthony See’s reason for the change of decision is in light of the letter of interest that was received from Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC).”

KJCF has yet to receive a reply from TTC on the proof of funds and other documents, other than a letter of intent.

TTC’s offer is at a tentative maximum price of RM3.74 per share versus Aspire Insight’s RM3.30 per share.

The EGM for the proposed takeover, pricing the entire assets and liabilities of KJCF at RM1.47 billion or RM3.30 per KJCF share, will be held in May. Aspire will need 75% approval from those present and voting to seal the deal.

Edaran Bhd has secured a two-year RM23.8 million contract to undertake maintenance work for the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.

The firm said its wholly-owned subsidiary Edaran IT Services Sdn Bhd was awarded the contract by Customs.

“Proceeds from the contract shall contribute towards the earnings of the group for the financial years ending Jun 30, 2015 and Jun 30, 2016,” said Edaran.

Asia Bioenergy Technologies Bhd rose in active trades after the company announced that an associate company is selling biofuels to Concord Energy Pte Ltd.

At market close today, Asia Bioenergy rose one sen or 10% to 10.5 sen per share on trades of 136.5 million shares. It was the second most actively traded counter.

Nexfuel Ltd has signed an agreement to sell all biofuels products produced using the technology developed by Cool Planet Energy Systems Inc to Concord Energy Pte Ltd of Singapore, the company said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia today.

Nexfuel is 20%-owned by Asia Bioenergy.

Asia Bioenergy said the agreement followed a plant construction agreement, previously signed between Nexfuel and Cool Planet on Feb 20. It granted Nexfuel the licensing rights to Cool Planet's technology to develop fuel production plants in Malaysia.

Asia Bioenergy said the offtake agreement is effective immediately and will endure until the sixth anniversary of the first delivery from the first facility.

The agreement is expected to contribute positively to the future earnings of the company.

KLCC Property Holdings Bhd (KLCCP) is able to fund the purchase of assets worth up to RM1 billion, according to its group CEO Datuk Hashim Wahir.

At a press conference today following the company’s annual general meeting, Hashim said: “There is capacity for us to fund a single asset of up to RM 1 billion.”

He added that the group is looking to expand into development that are yield accretive and will provide value to the shareholders in terms of distribution.

When asked the whereabouts of the assets to be acquired, Hashim replied that they would be around the KLCC area.

He added that announcements would be made when it acquired the right target. “We hope that there will be one this year,” he replied.