MAr30-Companies in the news IOI Corp, BCorp, Kimlun, George Kent, Voir, FGV, AirAsia and Pharmaniaga

by **Cals** Wed 30 Mar 2016, 02:17

Companies in the news

[size=28]IOI Corp, BCorp, Kimlun, George Kent, Voir, FGV, AirAsia and Pharmaniaga

By Gho Chee Yuan / theedgemarkets.com | March 29, 2016 : 11:12 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus tomorrow (Wednesday, March 30) could include the following: IOI Corp, BCorp, Kimlun, George Kent, Voir, FGV, AirAsia and Pharmaniaga.

IOI Corp Bhd has confirmed that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has suspended its certification for the group's oil palm production.

The suspension, which takes effect on April 1, follows complaints against IOI's Indonesian subsidiaries' plantation estates, which produce about 2% of the group's annual crude palm oil production.

"According to the complaints by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Indonesian plantations are alleged to be non-compliant with various RSPO Principles and Criteria and requirements," IOI Corp said in a bourse filing.

The group said it had on March 23 submitted a comprehensive action plan to the complaints panel and is actively engaging with RSPO to review the plan and to resolve the issues without further delay.

Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp)'s net profit for the third quarter ended Jan 31, 2016 (3QFY16) took a beating due to deconsolidation of Berjaya Auto Bhd's results and lower contribution from its Toto betting and numbers forecasting business.

It told the stock exchange today that its 3QFY16 net profit plunge 98.4% to RM15.82 million or 0.37 sen per share, as compared to RM975.41 million or 19.64 sen per share in 3QFY15.

Revenue for 3QFY16 was 1.8% lower at RM2.17 billion against RM2.21 billion a year earlier.

No dividend was declared for the current quarter under review.

For the cumulative nine months ended Jan 31 (9MFY16), net profit shrank 83% to RM194.21 million or 4.03 sen per share against RM1.14 billion or 22.91 sen per share for the previous corresponding period.

Revenue for 9MFY16 dropped 10% to RM6.54 billion from RM7.27 billion.

Given the prevailing economic conditions and financial outlook, BCorp is of the view that its operating environment will be challenging going forward.

Kimlun Corp Bhd won a contract to supply segmental box girders for the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line 2 project from Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) worth RM199.9 million.

It told Bursa Malaysia today that its unit SPC Industries Sdn Bhd has been appointed by MRT Corp as the designated supplier for a period of about 44 months.

Kimlun expects the contract to contribute positively to its earnings during the supply period.

George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Jan 31, 2016 (4QFY16) more than double to RM19.88 million or 6.6 sen per share, due to record contributions from its engineering and metering divisions.

It posted a net profit of RM8.29 million or 2.8 sen per share in 4QFY15, according to its financial statement posted on Bursa Malaysia today.

Quarterly revenue rose 128.2% to RM267.47 million, from RM117.23 million.

The metering and engineering company recommended a final dividend of 3.5 sen, amounting to RM10.51 million, subject to shareholders' approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting.

Net profit for the full financial year ended Jan 31 (FY16) jumped 79% to RM50.29 million or 16.7 sen per share, as compared to RM28.09 million or 9.3 sen per share in FY15; while revenue was up 52.4% at RM538.09 million, from RM353.16 million in the previous year.

Moving forward, the group is optimistic that the securing of several project awards, such as its appointment as the project delivery partner (PDP) for the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) and the securing of the Hong Kong water meters tender, will expand its earnings base and improve profitability.

Voir Holdings Bhd said its holding company, Marvellous Future Sdn Bhd, has accepted Vista Lestari Development Sdn Bhd's offer to acquire a 50.71% stake in the fashion retailer and 33.47 million warrants for RM36.48 million cash or 50 sen per share and 9 sen per warrant.

Following completion of the transaction, Vista Lestari will be the majority shareholder of Voir and will make a mandatory general offer (MGO) to all shareholders of Voir at the same price.

The offer prices are at steep discounts to their closing prices today; Voir shares closed 1.5 sen or 1.99% higher at 77 sen per share, bringing a market capitalisation of RM101.64 million. Its warrants closed unchanged at 27.5 sen apiece.

Vista Lestari intends to maintain the listing status of Voir on Bursa Malaysia. Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli is the ultimate offeror for the proposed MGO, being the chairman and a major shareholder of Vista Lestari.

Zarul is also chairman of Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd, the main contractor for the controversial RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project in Penang.

After months of guessing, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) has finally revealed the identity of the group's new chief executive officer (CEO).

FGV announced the appointment of Datuk Zakaria Arshad as its new CEO, replacing Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah, whose contract will expire at end of this month, according to its bourse filing today.

The world's largest palm oil operator told the stock exchange that Zakaria's appointment would be effective this Friday (April 1). FGV said Zakaria, 56, had been the group's downstream palm operations head since 2014.

AirAsia Bhd may also be in focus tomorrow, following news that India-based Tata Sons has raised its stake in AirAsia India to 49%, from 41.06%, after acquiring 7.94% in the budget airline from Arun Bhatia's Telestra Tradeplace.

Tata Sons said in a statement that it had signed an agreement with AirAsia India and Telestra, alongside AirAsia India directors S. Ramadorai and R. Venkataramanan.

"The agreement was entered into on March 14, 2016, and the transaction is proposed to be completed in April 2016, subject to completion of the relevant corporate approvals and processes," it added.

According to Tata Sons, Ramadorai and Venkataramanan have proposed to buy Telestra's remaining 2% stake in AirAsia India.

On this, AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said via Twitter that Tata Sons' move to raise its AirAsia India stake was an indication of Tata Sons' confidence in the airline.

Meanwhile, Pharmaniaga Holdings Bhd intends to further expand its business in Indonesia, to transform its operations there into an important manufacturing and export hub.

Its group managing director Datuk Farshila Emran said the group has allocated RM70 million for capital expenditure in 2016, of which RM40 million will be used to upgrade its manufacturing business, and RM10 million will be spent on improving its plant in Indonesia.

"Pharmaniaga's presence in Indonesia is quite big, with its ownership of a distribution and logistics company, PT Millenium Pharmacon Tbk, and its manufacturing plant, Errita," she told pressmen after the group's annual and extraordinary general meeting.

"We have increased our equity in PT Errita Pharma to 85% from 75%, as we recently announced. We have decided to really focus on Indonesia, because the market is bigger. We have temporarily decided to not pursue our Middle East projects," she added.

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