PETALING JAYA: Critical Holdings Bhd
’s latest contract win is an indicator of improving investment activity within Malaysia’s electrical and electronics (E&E) and high-tech manufacturing ecosystem.
Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) said this in a report adding that moving forward, it believes Critical Holdings is well-positioned to benefit from the strong demand for critical-facilities across semiconductor and data-centres industries.
Critical Holdings which specialises in mechanical, electrical and process utilities design and engineering services obtained its first contract of the year, a RM35mil project involving cleanroom work recently.
The job is expected to be completed by June 30, the Penang-based group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia last Thursday.
Maybank IB noted that the contract was to design and commission a new cleanroom production floor and cleanroom architecture system at a manufacturing plant in Batu Kawan, Penang for a United States-based multinational corporation which offers computer memory and data storage system for industrial Internet of Things solutions.
The contract would lift its outstanding order book to approximately RM250mil [76% of financial year ended June 30, 2025 (FY25) revenue] and is expected to provide earnings visibility in FY26 to FY27, it said.
Maybank IB said it maintained its annual order book replenishment assumption of RM300mil for FY26, and was keeping its forecasts unchanged.
Looking ahead, the research house expect job replenishment prospects to be healthy across mission-critical sectors, particularly data-centres, high-tech manufacturing and industrial infrastructure industries backed by its RM800mil tender book, it said.
It is maintaining its “buy” call on the stock with a target price of RM1.14, pegged to unchanged 15 times FY26 price-to-earnings ratio in-line with sector peers.
At last look, Critical Holdings was at 80 sen apiece, valuing the whole company at RM297mil.
Maybank IB said the multinational corporation capital expenditure cycle is regaining momentum, particularly in segments requiring sophisticated, mission-critical infrastructure.
Critical Holdings was listed on the ACE Market in December 2023 and transferred to the Main Market last October.
