May 23, 2013

1QFY13: Slow start to the year

Stock Name: DELEUM
Company Name: DELEUM BHD
Research House: ALLIANCEPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 3.49



May 22, 2013

Off to a slow start - Earnings from Malikai yet to kick in

Stock Name: MHB
Company Name: MALAYSIA MARINE AND HEAVY ENG
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 3.97



Still in uncertain territories

Stock Name: JTINTER
Company Name: JT INTERNATIONAL BHD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 6.80



Low CPO price benefits the manufacturing segment

Stock Name: IOICORP
Company Name: IOI CORPORATION BHD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 4.60



Better quarters ahead

Stock Name: SENDAI
Company Name: EVERSENDAI CORPORATION BERHAD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: BUYTarget Price: 1.73



Alas, the wait is finally over!

Stock Name: DAYANG
Company Name: DAYANG ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS BHD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: BUYTarget Price: 6.08



Cost and capital management among key priorities for FY13

Stock Name: CIMB
Company Name: CIMB GROUP HOLDINGS BERHAD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 9.40



Starting the year on a positive note

Stock Name: ARMADA
Company Name: BUMI ARMADA BERHAD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: BUYTarget Price: 4.83



XL may continue to be a drag

Stock Name: AXIATA
Company Name: AXIATA GROUP BERHAD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: TRADING BUYTarget Price: 6.75



Non interest income boosted by sale of associate

Stock Name: AFG
Company Name: ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP BHD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 4.50



Affin downgrades Alliance Financial Group

Stock Name: AFG
Company Name: ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP BHD
Research House: AFFINPrice Call: SELLTarget Price: 4.78



Affin Investment Bank downgraded Alliance Financial Group to 'reduce' from 'add', saying the stock's recent gains have hurt its valuations.

The investment bank left its target price for the stock unchanged at RM4.78 per share, adding that the group's prospects remain intact.

Alliance Financial shares were trading up 0.6 per cent at RM5, while the benchmark composite index was up 0.33 per cent at 1793.44.-- Reuters

May 20, 2013

Analaysts maintain 'neutral' on auto sector

Stock Name: TCHONG
Company Name: TAN CHONG MOTOR HOLDINGS BHD
Research House: RHBPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 7.50

Stock Name: DRBHCOM
Company Name: DRB-HICOM BHD
Research House: RHBPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 3.30



Kenanga Research has maintained a 'neutral' call on the automotive industry and retains its 2013 Total Industry
Volume's (TIV) forecast of 641,560 units.

The research house said April's total vehicle sales month-on-month slid by nine per cent due to consumers' wait-and-see approach in the uncertainty surrounding the recent general election.

However, year-on-year total vehicle sales charted a year-on-year growth of 10 per cent to 52,489 units with sales of passenger vehicles increasing by 10 per cent to 45,564 units while commercial vehicles posted increased sales of nine per cent to 6,925 units.

"We look forward to the unveiling of the revised National Automotive Policy which will focus on positioning the country as a regional hub for hybrid vehicles and energy-efficient vehicles.

"The new policy would also look into gradually eliminating structural issues such as high duties, high selling prices, non-tariff barriers, fuel subsidies and other political considerations," it said in a research note today.

Meanwhile, RHB Research in its note said the expected sales decline in April was not as severe as expected.

"With the general elections out of the way and expectations for continuity and stability of policies affecting the automotive industry, we expect auto sales to normalise in the months ahead as buyers return to the market helped by low interest rates and an attractive pipeline of new models," it added.

The research house said following the Barisan Nasional's victory in the general elections, it expects consumer expectations for a significant reduction in car prices to gradually moderate.

RHB Research remains neutral on the automotive industry and favours shares of companies like Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd with a target price of RM7.50 and DRB-HICOM Bhd with a target price of RM3.30.

On the other hand, HLIB Research has maintained an "overweight" call for the industry and favours shares like DRB-HICOM Bhd with a target price of RM3.36.

The research house said the slowdown in the Malaysian economy, global automotive supply chain disruption and sudden jump in fuel prices and interest rate will post a risk to the industry.-- Bernama

Kenanga cautious on Segi outlook

Stock Name: SEG
Company Name: SEG INTERNATIONAL BHD
Research House: KENANGAPrice Call: SELLTarget Price: 1.45



Kenanga Research is cautious on SEG International Bhd's (SEGi) outlook, saying its first quarter net profit of RM1 million was way below expectations.

"We believe that the group is still struggling to recover from the loss of a large number of its graduating students, which was supposed to be filled by new recruitments of foreign students, but it has been dragged by the new regulations set by the government," Kenanga said in a note.

Year-on-year, the company's 2013 first quarter revenue of RM55.8 million was down by 28 per cent due to the dismal intake coupled with a higher number of graduating students from its nursing programme.

Going forward, the escalating competition in the private higher education space will provide an additional challenge to the group, Kenanga said.

It has downgraded SEGi's rating to 'underperform' with a target price of RM1.45, from RM1.75.

Meanwhile, another research house, RHB Research, has maintained its 'sell' call on the company with a lower target price of RM0.96 from RM1.20.

"The disappointing results echo our concern that SEGi is breaking under the weight of rising competition given the status upgrades of several existing tertiary institutions.

"Thus, we continue to anticipate a difficult 2013 first half financial year due to sub-par student enrolment numbers, and remain cautious on its near-term earnings growth," it said.-- Bernama

RHB lowers Petra Energy's earnings forecast

Stock Name: PENERGY
Company Name: PETRA ENERGY BHD
Research House: RHBPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 1.95



RHB Research has lowered its forecast on Petra Energy Bhd's 2013-2014 earnings by 15 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively, given the group's lower-than-expected net profit.

Petra Energy's RM2.2 million net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 accounted for only eight per cent of RHB Research's full-year projection.

For the first quarter, the group posted RM92.4 million revnue, down 29.6 per cent year-on-year on weaker-than-expected contributions from its main business segments.

Its integrated brown field maintenance and engineering division's revenue plunged 30.7 per cent year-on-year due to lower utilisation of vessels, resulting in a pre-tax loss of RM7.3 million versus RM3.1 million pre-tax profit in the same period last year.

RHB Research maintained 'neutral' call with a target price of RM1.95.-- Bernama

Still room for cost-to-income ratio to improve

Stock Name: AMBANK
Company Name: AMMB HOLDINGS BHD
Research House: MIDFPrice Call: HOLDTarget Price: 7.30