KUALA LUMPUR: Press Metal, Century Logistics, Tomypak and Vitrox are among the stocks to watch on Friday after their earnings announcements, says JF Apex Research.
Press Metal’s 1QFY17 net profit jumped 56.6% on-year, mainly due to higher production output generated by its Samalaju Phase 2 smelting plant in Sarawak and improved metal price.
Century Logistics' earnings rose 9%, boosted by higher contribution from its total logistics services segment.
As for Tomypak, its 1QFY17 net profit surged 78.3% on-year due to higher demand from both its local and overseas customers, improved production cost, and lower foreign exchange losses.
ViTrox saw its net profit for the 1QFY17 increase by 19% on-year due to higher demand from a widened customer base.
It highlighted that Petronas Dagangan reported its 1QFY17 with better net profit, up 15.4% yoy, on higher average selling price, despite lower sales volume.
Sarawak Plantation posted a net profit of RM13.19mil in 1QFY17 versus a net loss of RM756,000 a year ago due to higher sales volume of crude palm oil and palm kernel.
JF Apex Research said IJM is set to take part in a property development project in Nagpur, the third biggest city in the Maharashtra state of India.
On Wall Street, US markets staged a mild rebound as concerns of a political turmoil abated. Earlier, European stocks declined on concerns of US President Donald Trump's ability to deliver growth policies.
At Bursa, the FBM KLCI lost 8.48 points to close at 1,767.17.
“Following the mixed performance in the US and Europe, the FBM KLCI could hover sideways above 1,750,” said JF Apex Research.