Stockwatch

Maybank: MAYBANK’S announcement of a record dividend payout, yielding a net 4% return at current price levels, was indeed a pleasant surprise for shareholders. However, its share price reaction to the news was rather muted the week after, overshadowed by the cautious sentiment in the broader market. Analysts said concerns over the bank’s slower loans growth and declining non-interest income were capping Maybank’s near-term performance. Otherwise, they said it made a lot of sense buying Maybank shares rather than earning paltry deposit rates. Meanwhile, whether the high dividend policy is sustainable is another matter.  

Unisem: TECHNOLOGY-RELATED stocks are a hard sell these days when even a decent net dividend yield of 2.1% is not enough to get buyers’ attention. Last week, Unisem share price tanked below its initial public offer price of RM5.10 after the company, which was listed in 1998, announced a net loss of RM12.5mil for the 12 months period ended Dec 31, 2002. OCBC Research said Unisem’s downside risk looked limited but cautioned that a high foreign shareholding – overseas investors own one-fifth of the company – was a handicap as redemption pressure at home could potentially force them to sell stakes in Unisem to meet obligations. 

Pernas: IN the past two weeks, Pernas shares were seen as consolidating gains made since mid-January this year. Dealers said last week’s announcement of a full-year net loss per share of 28.24 sen had little bearing on the stock’s price direction as the market had al- ready factored in the losses. They added investors were more interested in Pernas’ massive makeover and how the company’s assets would be incorporated into new owner Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s sprawling business empire. In January, a company linked to the low profile tycoon acquired a 32% stake in Pernas from Perbadanan Nasional Bhd for RM2.10 per share.  

Eden: THIS recently restructured company saw active trade in the past two weeks with its share price briefly hitting a two-and-a-half year high of RM1.61 last Monday. The stock was traded at RM1.40 last Friday. Meanwhile, Eden warrants (which carry a strike price of RM1), new shares and loan stocks arising from the restructuring exercise were admitted for listing last Tuesday. New owner Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohamad, who holds a 74% stake in the company post restructuring, has injected profitable power generation, manufacturing operations and land banks into Eden’s existing food and leisure businesses. 

 

Ornapaper: THE best performing initial public offer (IPO) so far this year has to be Ornapaper, which was traded at a 64% premium to its offer price of RM1.60 one month after listing. The stock had initially received little attention from investors, trading below the IPO price on its first week on the KLSE main board. Its share price has been gathering upward momentum since Feb 10. Currently, the corrugated carton maker has a 10% market share in an industry worth an estimated RM1.2bil per annum. The company is planning to venture into a new area, the paper household furniture market, to make use of its 35% excess production capacity. 

Unisem: TECHNOLOGY-RELATED stocks are a hard sell these days when even a decent net dividend yield of 2.1% is not enough to get buyers’ attention. Last week, Unisem share price tanked below its initial public offer price of RM5.10 after the company, which was listed in 1998, announced a net loss of RM12.5mil for the 12 months period ended Dec 31, 2002. OCBC Research said Unisem’s downside risk looked limited but cautioned that a high foreign shareholding – overseas investors own one-fifth of the company – was a handicap as redemption pressure at home could potentially force them to sell stakes in Unisem to meet obligations. 

Pernas: IN the past two weeks, Pernas shares were seen as consolidating gains made since mid-January this year. Dealers said last week’s announcement of a full-year net loss per share of 28.24 sen had little bearing on the stock’s price direction as the market had al- ready factored in the losses. They added investors were more interested in Pernas’ massive makeover and how the company’s assets would be incorporated into new owner Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s sprawling business empire. In January, a company linked to the low profile tycoon acquired a 32% stake in Pernas from Perbadanan Nasional Bhd for RM2.10 per share.  

Eden: THIS recently restructured company saw active trade in the past two weeks with its share price briefly hitting a two-and-a-half year high of RM1.61 last Monday. The stock was traded at RM1.40 last Friday. Meanwhile, Eden warrants (which carry a strike price of RM1), new shares and loan stocks arising from the restructuring exercise were admitted for listing last Tuesday. New owner Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohamad, who holds a 74% stake in the company post restructuring, has injected profitable power generation, manufacturing operations and land banks into Eden’s existing food and leisure businesses. 

 

Ornapaper: THE best performing initial public offer (IPO) so far this year has to be Ornapaper, which was traded at a 64% premium to its offer price of RM1.60 one month after listing. The stock had initially received little attention from investors, trading below the IPO price on its first week on the KLSE main board. Its share price has been gathering upward momentum since Feb 10. Currently, the corrugated carton maker has a 10% market share in an industry worth an estimated RM1.2bil per annum. The company is planning to venture into a new area, the paper household furniture market, to make use of its 35% excess production capacity.