PETALING JAYA: Shares of garment retailer Padini Holdings Bhd
, which saw volatile trading and selling pressure yesterday, closed at down 11 sen to RM1.44 with 31.8 million shares traded.
The drop followed an announcement last Friday that several of the company’s bank accounts have been frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as part of a wider investigation.
MBSB Research believes the news at this stage “is primarily a near-term sentiment risk, given the limited disclosure surrounding the investigation and potential headline volatility until further clarity emerges”.
It has maintained a “buy” call with an unchanged target price of RM2.13 based on financial year ending June 30, 2026 earnings per share of 14.2 sen pegged to a 15 times price-to-earnings ratio.
The research house does not expect any immediate earnings impact absent any evidence of operational disruption or direct allegations against the company.
“We continue to like Padini for its strong value positioning, broad brand portfolio and resilient balance sheet, which should allow it to navigate near-term uncertainty,” it said.
“Management stated that day-to-day operations remain fully functional and uninterrupted, with business continuing as usual,” it said, with necessary steps being taken to unfreeze the affected accounts, which have not been actively used for daily operations.
It views the development as a sentiment-driven overhang rather than a fundamental operational issue at this stage.
The company said in a stock exchange filing last Friday that the MACC’s action to freeze the bank accounts was pursuant to an order issued under Section 44(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Meanwhile, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Padini said 21 bank accounts belonging to the company and several subsidiaries have been frozen.
It said the accounts comprise three accounts under Padini Holdings, four under Yee Fong Hung (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and seven under Padini Corp Sdn Bhd.
A further four accounts were under Padini Dot Com Sdn Bhd, while one was under Seed Corp Sdn Bhd and two were under Vincci Ladies’ Specialties Centre Sdn Bhd.
