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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Stocks to watch: Hartalega, F&N, Iris, Ireka

Companies which could see trading interest on Tuesday, Feb 8 following fresh corporate developments include HARTALEGA HOLDINGS BHD [], Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd and IREKA CORPORATION BHD [].

Hartalega’s earnings rose 32.1% to RM49.20 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 compared with RM37.2 0 million a year ago.

Its revenue rose 26.5% to RM188.12 million from RM148.59 million while pre-tax profit increased by 31% to RM62.21 million from RM47.47 million. Earnings per share were 13.54 sen versus 10.23 sen. It declared an interim dividend of five sen.

F&N’s net profit for the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 37.74% to RM107.08 million from RM77.74 million a year ago, driven by higher revenue and tax incentives enjoyed by its Dairies plant in Rojana, Thailand. Its revenue for the quarter crossed the billion ringgit mark to RM1.03 billion from RM882.61 million in 2009.

Reviewing its performance, F&N said soft drinks revenue growth accelerated by 25% on account of continued strong demand across all product categories, an earlier Chinese New Year sales window and incremental sales from new product variants.

F&N said the group had recently introduced several new fruity teas under Seasons and juice drinks under Fruit Tree in PET bottle.

Iris Corp is venturing into industrialised building system (IBS) via a joint venture with a joint venture with Koto Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Ambitech Sdn Bhd.

Iris said it planned to develop the Koto IBS for mass building projects in Peninsular Malaysia. “Koto IBS is an alternative way to mass manufacture energy efficient housing, commercial buildings, high-rises and affordable housing.

Ireka secured a RM27.58-million contract to build the structure for the proposed City International Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

It was awarded the contract by Hoa Lam-Shangri-La Healthcare Ltd Liability Co. The contract works are expected to be completed by Sept 30, 2011.

“The contract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings of the Ireka group for the financial year ending March 31, 2012,” it said.

KENCANA PETROLEUM BHD [] plans to finance the US$200 million required to jointly develop and operate the Berantai oil and gas field through an equity/debt fund raising exercise.

“The detailed breakdown between the various sources of funding has yet to be determined at this juncture, pending completion of the company’s proposed fund raising exercises in its entirety,” it said on Monday, Feb 7, in response to a query by Bursa Malaysia.

Its partner, SAPURACREST PETROLEUM BHD [] informed the stock exchange that it was in discussions with a leading local bank to secure the necessary funding to part-finance its unit, Sapura Energy Venture’s contribution to the cost of development of the Berantai field.

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