Bursa highlights for Thurs, Feb 25

Bursa highlights logo for Star Online (Business).

Bursa highlights on Feb 25

S P Setia Bhd has set a sales target of RM4bil for this year, hoping to at least match last year’s performance despite tougher market conditions. The property developer, which derived a third of its sales from overseas, recorded total sales of RM4.3bil over the 14-month period to Dec 31, 2015. Read more

DRB-Hicom Bhd sank into a loss attributable to its owners totalling RM185.32mil for the third quarter (Q3) ended Dec 31, 2015, compared to earnings of RM9.47mil a year earlier, as its automotive operations faced various headwinds. The conglomerate, whose stable of brands include Proton and Pos Malaysia, said the “unfavourable” financial results for the quarter and financial period was mainly caused by the weaker performance of its automotive business. Read more

Malayan Banking Bhd posted a stronger set of earnings of RM6.83bil in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015. The country’s largest bank said earnings were higher by 1.8% from the RM6.71bil in FY14. Its revenue grew at a stronger pace of 13.5% to RM40.55bil from RM35.71bil. Read more

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chalked up a lower net profit of RM2.85bil for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015, versus M3.11bil for FY14, impacted mainly by loan loss provisions from its overseas markets of Indonesia and Thailand. It also announced plans to set up its Philippines operations from scratch by 2018, instead of going through a merger and acquisition exercise. Read more

IJM Corp Bhd’s earnings jumped 85.8% to RM256.10mil in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2015, boosted by higher contributions from the group’s construction, plantation and infrastructure divisions and a one-off gain from the sale of its stake in Swarna Tollway Private Ltd. Its revenue increased 7.5% to RM1.45bil from RM1.44bil a year ago. Read more

Taliworks Corp Bhd, operator of the Sungai Selangor Phase 1 water treatment works, is exiting China by selling all of its waste treatment assets in the republic for RM230mil. At the same time, it is boosting its Malaysian operation by paying RM255mil for a 35% stake in SWM Environment, which holds a 22-year concession to provide solid waste collection services in the states of Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor. Read more

Truesource Sdn Bhd (TSSB), a newly-acquired unit of Singapore-listed Plato Capital Ltd, has signed a conditional agreement to acquire 25.89% shareholding in ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd for RM27.45mil. It may be obliged to undertake a mandatory general offer for all the remaining shares in ECM Libra, as ECM Libra managing director and substantial shareholder Lim Kian Onn is also a controlling shareholder of Plato and may be seen as a person acting in concert. Read more

Pestech International Bhd plans to list its indirect unit Pestech (Cambodia) Ltd, which constructs electrical substations and transmission lines, on the Cambodia Securities Exchange.

Shipbuilder Coastal Contracts Bhd have secured orders for three offshore support vessels (OSVs) and five low-end vessels valued at about RM185mil. To date, the Sabah-based group’s order book is about RM2.77bil, of which vessel sales order book makes up about 43%.

Construction firm Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd has netted a RM181.3mil contract for the main building works for a 325-unit apartment block and seven villa units in Kuchai Lama, Kuala Lumpur. The genKL development is a joint venture between CapitaLand Malaysia and Juta Asia Corp Sdn Bhd. The project’s duration is 41.5 months starting Nov 26, 2015.