KN Kenanga Holdings hopes to improve 2002 profit

K&N Kenanga Holdings Bhd hopes to improve profits in its current financial year to Dec 31, said K&N Kenanga Bhd executive director Amrat Kaur. 

“We made some profits in 2002. Going forward, and barring unforeseen circumstances, we want to improve it,” Amrat told a press conference after the group’s AGM in Kuala Lumpur last week. 

The group turned around to record a pre-tax profit of RM1mil in the financial year 2002 compared with a pre-tax loss of RM22.1mil previously. 

Operating revenue was also higher at RM90.7mil versus RM69.3mil a year earlier. 

On the proposed minimum brokerage rate, Amrat said although the rates were still being reviewed, having a minimum rate would help stabilise the industry so that stockbrokers could compete on services and not by undercutting one another. 

Kenanga Investment Management Sdn Bhd executive director Johan Tazrin Ngo said the growth of the group’s fund management business was expected to come from the increase in size of its local funds, currently at about RM110mil. 

He said the company was also providing advisory services to foreign funds, which are worth about RM1bil. 

On the impact of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak on the financial markets, K&N Kenanga Bhd research head Seow Choong Liang said although there was a big sell-down last month much of the impact had already been discounted. 

On the performance of the KLSE Composite Index (CI) this year, Seow said he would be pleased if the CI could rise 10% to slightly below 700 points. “The possibility of the CI rising above that level is not out of the question but we don't think so.”