Versus the CI

Resorts: It's five months into the year and things have yet to turn out well for Resorts World Bhd. The country's sole casino operator has been plagued by one adverse development after another. At first it was the Iraq war, then the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, and now it has to deal with concerns over the emergence of a second gaming operator next to its famed Genting Highlands resort. However, despite the unfavourable developments, a majority of the analysts are still calling a buy on Resorts as the news have more or less been factored into its currently battered stock prices. 

IOi Corp: HAVING benefited enormously from the surge in crude palm oil (CPO) prices since late 2001, IOI Corp Bhd, together with other plantation firms, could be seeing a consolidation in CPO price. Inthe past three months, IOI shares have fallen by 90 sen, or 18%. Market observers said the decline could have been more severe if not for its aggressive share buybacks. A concern on IOI Corp is its ability to digest on its recent purchases in the event of a bearish plantation cycle. This was reflected in the sharp price decline in March when it proposed to acquire almost 22,000 ha of plantations in Sabah for over RM600mil. 

Ocean Capital: MANY retail investors are believed to have loss money from this company over the past three months. Interest in this loss-making supermarket and department store operator emerged in early April after news had it that Ocean was in talks with Parkson Corp Sdn Bhd to explore business opportunities. Even Ocean did not deny the rumour when queried by the KLSE. Subsequently, its shares were chased up by more than 80% to a high of 37.5 sen. However, the deal never materialised and the company is now classified as a PN4 company, awaiting a major restructuring exercise and reverse takeover by new owners. 

Unisem: THE weaker technology investment across the globe, brought about the economic slowdown and war against terrorism, has taken a toll on Unisem, which exports 65% of its chips. Last month, the company disappointed analysts when it announced a poor set of quarterly earnings to March 31. Unisem's net loss had widened to RM7.2mil from a loss of RM1.3mil a year ago despite posting a higher revenue of RM54mil. In its notes, Unisem expects little improvement in the remaining year as overall conditions in the industry remain challenging. In the past three months, its stock price has underperformed the CI by more than 10%. 

Maxis: THE past three months have been fruitful for Maxis Communications Bhd for the country's largest mobile phone operator has finally sealed its RM1.47bil acquisition of TimeCel Sdn Bhd. Although its share price has been hovering around RM5.20-RM5.50 over the past three months, it has still done better than the CI by 2%. Analysts expect Maxis to benefit strongly from the TimeCel purchase as the deal enables the company to expand its network capacity. In addition, Maxis can look forward to a larger contribution from its mobile data division, which is expected to account for over 10% of its mobile revenue this year. 

IOi Corp: HAVING benefited enormously from the surge in crude palm oil (CPO) prices since late 2001, IOI Corp Bhd, together with other plantation firms, could be seeing a consolidation in CPO price. Inthe past three months, IOI shares have fallen by 90 sen, or 18%. Market observers said the decline could have been more severe if not for its aggressive share buybacks. A concern on IOI Corp is its ability to digest on its recent purchases in the event of a bearish plantation cycle. This was reflected in the sharp price decline in March when it proposed to acquire almost 22,000 ha of plantations in Sabah for over RM600mil. 

Ocean Capital: MANY retail investors are believed to have loss money from this company over the past three months. Interest in this loss-making supermarket and department store operator emerged in early April after news had it that Ocean was in talks with Parkson Corp Sdn Bhd to explore business opportunities. Even Ocean did not deny the rumour when queried by the KLSE. Subsequently, its shares were chased up by more than 80% to a high of 37.5 sen. However, the deal never materialised and the company is now classified as a PN4 company, awaiting a major restructuring exercise and reverse takeover by new owners. 

Unisem: THE weaker technology investment across the globe, brought about the economic slowdown and war against terrorism, has taken a toll on Unisem, which exports 65% of its chips. Last month, the company disappointed analysts when it announced a poor set of quarterly earnings to March 31. Unisem's net loss had widened to RM7.2mil from a loss of RM1.3mil a year ago despite posting a higher revenue of RM54mil. In its notes, Unisem expects little improvement in the remaining year as overall conditions in the industry remain challenging. In the past three months, its stock price has underperformed the CI by more than 10%. 

Maxis: THE past three months have been fruitful for Maxis Communications Bhd for the country's largest mobile phone operator has finally sealed its RM1.47bil acquisition of TimeCel Sdn Bhd. Although its share price has been hovering around RM5.20-RM5.50 over the past three months, it has still done better than the CI by 2%. Analysts expect Maxis to benefit strongly from the TimeCel purchase as the deal enables the company to expand its network capacity. In addition, Maxis can look forward to a larger contribution from its mobile data division, which is expected to account for over 10% of its mobile revenue this year.