Versus the CI

Proton: OVERALL weak car sales and intense competition from non-national makes gave Proton shares a severe beating over the past few weeks. Its shares are lounging at levels not seen since late 2001, having fallen from a high of RM12.10 this time last year. But, given its current cheap valuations, analysts believe there's more upside than downside. The carmaker is seen netting RM1.35 earnings per share for financial year 2004. It has been trading at PER of only four times, a sufficiently huge discount to the broad market average of about 12%. 

MMC: THIS ex-tin mining giant is progressing well in its transformation to an infrastructure and utility group. Kim Eng Securities said notwithstanding its premium valuations and financial handicaps, MMC should not be ignored, "thanks to its strong connections”. The research unit said MMC, on which it has a buy, needed to address its biggest handicap of not having a cash cow to fund future expansion. “We suspect when it is more financially able, MMC will be keen to raise its stake in Malakoff to above 50% to tap the latter's strong generating capability.” 

IOI Prop: MAYBANK'S share price has slipped in the last three months, although much slower than the KLSE Composite Index, with investors holding on for the 35-sen dividend payout to be made on May 9. Meanwhile, analysts are holding out Maybank as a potential high-yield stock should it repeat the interim dividend payout. A foreign research house said in a recent note that an equivalent or greater final payout than the recently declared interim dividend would push gross yield to above 8%, and be an important catalyst for the stock. 

Maybank: IOI Properties is feeling the pinch from the slowdown in the property sector. Analysts said demand for IOI Prop's recent launches has been uninspiring, particularly at Johor-based projects, where the overall take up rate has fallen to 20%. Analysts said while IOI Prop has about RM300mil in locked-in sales to date, the weak sentiment in the property market and the shift towards medium-cost product mix would affect revenue. Analysts are expecting flat revenue this year, and minimal growth in 2004 for this stock. 

DiGi.com: ANALYSTS say Digi.Com's first quarter results may exceed market expectations given the strong 11.5% subscriber growth quarter-on-quarter in the first three months to March. According to OCBC Research, Digi's customer base stood at around 2 million as of March, up from 1.8 million in December last year. Digi is targeting to increase it to 2.5 million this year. Already, expectations of a recovery in earnings momentum and improved margins are driving up Digi's share price, which gained 14% to RM2.55 on Friday, compared with its March bottom of RM2.24. 

MMC: THIS ex-tin mining giant is progressing well in its transformation to an infrastructure and utility group. Kim Eng Securities said notwithstanding its premium valuations and financial handicaps, MMC should not be ignored, "thanks to its strong connections”. The research unit said MMC, on which it has a buy, needed to address its biggest handicap of not having a cash cow to fund future expansion. “We suspect when it is more financially able, MMC will be keen to raise its stake in Malakoff to above 50% to tap the latter's strong generating capability.” 

IOI Prop: MAYBANK'S share price has slipped in the last three months, although much slower than the KLSE Composite Index, with investors holding on for the 35-sen dividend payout to be made on May 9. Meanwhile, analysts are holding out Maybank as a potential high-yield stock should it repeat the interim dividend payout. A foreign research house said in a recent note that an equivalent or greater final payout than the recently declared interim dividend would push gross yield to above 8%, and be an important catalyst for the stock. 

Maybank: IOI Properties is feeling the pinch from the slowdown in the property sector. Analysts said demand for IOI Prop's recent launches has been uninspiring, particularly at Johor-based projects, where the overall take up rate has fallen to 20%. Analysts said while IOI Prop has about RM300mil in locked-in sales to date, the weak sentiment in the property market and the shift towards medium-cost product mix would affect revenue. Analysts are expecting flat revenue this year, and minimal growth in 2004 for this stock. 

DiGi.com: ANALYSTS say Digi.Com's first quarter results may exceed market expectations given the strong 11.5% subscriber growth quarter-on-quarter in the first three months to March. According to OCBC Research, Digi's customer base stood at around 2 million as of March, up from 1.8 million in December last year. Digi is targeting to increase it to 2.5 million this year. Already, expectations of a recovery in earnings momentum and improved margins are driving up Digi's share price, which gained 14% to RM2.55 on Friday, compared with its March bottom of RM2.24.