June30-Companies in the news Maxis, YTL REIT, Hai-O, Berjaya Corp, IJM Corp, Hiap Teck, George Kent and Gamuda

by **Cals** Thu 30 Jun 2016, 00:42

Companies in the news

[size=28]Maxis, YTL REIT, Hai-O, Berjaya Corp, IJM Corp, Hiap Teck, George Kent and Gamuda

By Billy Toh / theedgemarkets.com | June 29, 2016 : 10:50 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (June 29): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus tomorrow (Thursday, June 30) could include: Maxis, YTL REIT, Hai-O, Berjaya Corp, IJM Corp, Hiap Teck, George Kent and Gamuda.

Maxis Bhd's unit, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd (MBSB), is planning a sukuk issuance with up to 30 years in tenure to raise as much as RM10 billion.

In a bourse filing today, Maxis said MBSB intends to use the raised funds from the unrated medium term notes programme to finance the settlement of acquisitions "in relation to the businesses and undertakings, including relevant assets and liabilities" from two other Maxis subsidiaries, namely Maxis Mobile Sdn Bhd and Maxis Mobile Services Sdn Bhd.

The proceeds will also be used as capital expenditure and working capital requirements of the group, said Maxis.

YTL Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (YTL Reit) saw its net asset value (NAV) per unit rising 8.6% from RM1.3512 to RM1.4671, following a revaluation of its assets.

The revaluation resulted in a total surplus of RM153.5 million, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today. The properties were revalued based on the policy of revaluing the properties for at least once during each financial year, it said.

Hai-O Enterprise Bhd’s net profit grew 24.4% to RM11.2 million in the fourth quarter financial year 2016 ended April 30, 2016 (4QFY16), from RM9 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

Quarterly revenue expanded by 25.8% to RM88.6 million, from RM70.4 million in 4QFY15.

The board of directors proposed a final single tier dividend of 11 sen per share, in respect of the financial year ended April 2016 (FY16).

In a filing of its company results to Bursa Malaysia today, Hai-O attributed the improved earnings to higher revenue achieved by the multi-level marketing (MLM) division.

Berjaya Corp Bhd’s (BCorp) net loss widened by 34% to RM368.91 million or 7.13 sen loss per share in its fourth financial quarter ended April 30, 2016 (4QFY16) from RM274.97 million or 5.46 sen loss per share a year ago due to an impairment loss of RM770.82 million, of which RM473.2 million came from value of goodwill on Starbuck brand.

This was despite a 6.9% increase in revenue to RM2.48 billion in 4QFY16, from RM2.32 billion in 4QFY15, on higher contribution from its property investment and development segment due to strong sales from a property project in China.

Nevertheless, BCorp has proposed a final dividend of three treasury shares for every 100 ordinary shares held for the approval of shareholders at the forthcoming annual general meeting. The final share dividend is equivalent to 2.16 sen per share.

IJM Corporation Bhd is still positive on the long-term prospects of its Royal Mint Gardens mixed-development project in London, and the UK in general, despite the UK's vote to exit the European Union.

In reply to a verbal query from Bursa Malaysia, IJM said the immediate accounting impact of Brexit is the unrealised foreign exchange translation due to the movement of the pound sterling.

IJM Corp said phase 1 of the project, located on Royal Mint Street in central London, is 90% sold to date, while phase 2 is still under the planning stage.

It added that the entire project represents less than 5% of the group's property division's outstanding gross development value (GDV).

Steel maker Hiap Teck Venture Bhd has turned a profit in its third financial quarter ended April 30, 2016 (3QFY16), following six successive quarters of net losses. It booked a net profit of RM10.59 million or 1.49 sen per share, compared with a net loss of RM5.19 million or 0.73 sen loss per share a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Hiap Teck said better selling prices in the quarter under review had led to improved gross profit margin, thus resulting in better profit.

The profit registered in 3QFY16 is due to share of profit contributed from its jointly-controlled entity, Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd, as compared with a share of losses in previous corresponding quarter.

However, Hiap Teck's revenue fell 15% to RM285.05 million in 3QFY16, from RM335.05 million in 3QFY15.

Moving forward, Hiap Teck noted that world steel prices have shown improvement after the Chinese government introduced measures to shut down loss-making and obsolete steel plants.

George Kent (M) Bhd reported a 52% jump in net profit to RM15.01 million or 5 sen per share for the first quarter ended April 30, 2016 (1QFY17), from RM9.87 million or 3.3 sen per share in the previous year's corresponding quarter, as revenue from its engineering division spiked 169%.

Its latest quarterly revenue doubled to RM122.96 million, from RM59.03 million in the same period a year ago, its bourse filing today showed.

In a statement today, George Kent said the spike in revenue in its engineering division was due to steady progress of ongoing projects.

George Kent also announced it has bagged a contract from Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore, for the supply and delivery of 323,630 units of DN15 Brass PSM-T water meters for S$4.9 million (RM14.7 million).

Gamuda Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended April 30 (3QFY16) fell 4.8% to RM152.69 million or 6.34 sen per share, from RM160.43 million or 6.81 sen per share a year earlier.

The group said earnings were affected by the softening of the domestic property market and tapering of underground and elevated works for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Line 1 project.

Revenue fell 15.6% to RM467.29 million, from RM553.78 million in 3QFY15, Gamuda said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.

The group declared a second interim dividend of six sen per share, payable on July 28, bringing year-to-date payout to 12 sen per share.

Going forward, the construction outfit anticipates a good performance from on-going construction projects and steady earnings from the water and expressway concessions division.

Gamuda said KVMRT1 was 86% complete as at end-May, and is on track for full completion by July 2017, with no significant cost overruns so far.

"The underground works package has achieved a progress of 88% at the end of May," it added.
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