MY Morning Wrap | TNB Aims to Expand Renewable Energy Portfolio in Asia Pacific and Europe

The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ rose 1.1%. Energy shares were the only segment of the broader index that ended the day, drifting lower along with oil and gas futures prices.

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ added 0.5% or about 184 points. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$, loaded with tech stocks, gained 1.6% and is now up 31% this year thanks to investor excitement over artificial intelligence and chip makers powering the latest computing boom.

$TENAGA (5347.MY)$ : Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) aims to expand its portfolio in renewable energy (RE) in existing international markets such as the United Kingdom (UK) as well as throughout the Asia Pacific and Europe. TNB chief new energy officer Mohd Zarihi Mohd Hashim said the expansion of the portfolio will be implemented through the establishment and increased expertise in asset development, covering solar and wind energy, whether on land or at sea, supported by utility storage (battery storage).

$SDG (5285.MY)$ : Sime Darby Plantation Bhd said it expects its financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023) to remain challenging, as its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023) fell by 53% to RM380 million from RM812 million a year ago. The plantation group said earnings were impacted by the lower average realised crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) prices. Nonetheless, the group declared a dividend of 3.25 sen, albeit lower than the 10 sen paid out last year.

$GENP (2291.MY)$ : Genting Plantations Bhd posted a net profit of RM70.97 million in 2QFY2023, down 68.24% from RM223.43 million a year ago, owing to notably weaker palm product prices. Average selling price (ASP) of crude palm oil fell 27% to RM3,584 per tonne in 2QFY2023, compared to RM4,907 per tonne, while palm kernel’s ASP dropped 44% to RM1,945 per tonne from RM3,484 per tonne. Revenue for the quarter fell 22.93% to RM805.95 million in 2QFY2023 from RM1.05 billion previously. The board of directors declared an interim single-tier dividend of eight sen per share, 47% lower compared to the 15 sen dividend paid a year ago, payable Sept 25, 2023.

$UOADEV (5200.MY)$ : UOA Development Bhd (UOADev)saw a 41% surge in net profit for the second quarter ending June 30, 2023 (Q223) amounting to RM63.87 million compared to RM45.3 million during the same period in the preceding year. In a disclosure to Bursa Malaysia today, the property developer said the substantial growth can be attributed to increased other income, notably bolstered by investment gains. UOADev reported revenue for the Q223 exhibited a 19% decline, settling at RM98.1 million, a drop from the previous year’s RM121.11 million.

$ALLIANZ-PA (1163PA.MY)$ : Allianz Malaysia Bhd's net profit increased 11.06% to RM166.67 million for 2QFY2023, compared with RM150.08 million a year earlier, owing mainly to its life insurance segment. Quarterly revenue increased by 7.57% to RM1.16 billion, from RM1.08 billion a year ago. Its life insurance segment recorded RM98.7 million in quarterly profit before tax, 14.4% higher than RM86.3 million for 2QFY2022, driven by better net insurance and investment results. This also came on the back of higher revenue of RM498.8 million for the segment, compared with RM458.7 million previously.

$BPLANT (5254.MY)$ : Trading in Boustead Plantations Bhd's shares will be suspended on Thursday pending an announcement. Trading in the company’s structured warrants will also be suspended. Separately, the group announced the appointment of Datuk Muhar Hussain as its independent and non-executive director.

$SUNCON (5263.MY)$ : Sunway Construction Group Bhd (SunCon) notched a net profit of RM33 million for 2QFY2023, slightly higher than the RM32.3 million it made in the corresponding quarter last year, as revenue rose on improved contributions from all its business segments. Revenue climbed 8.28% to RM604.1 million from RM557.89 million. The group declared a first interim dividend of three sen per share for FY2023, payable on Sept 27.

$SPTOTO (1562.MY)$ : Sports Toto Bhd's net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2023 (4QFY2023) increased 34.33% to RM62.35 million from RM46.41 million a year ago, driven by better performance by its luxury car dealer HR Owen plc. Quarterly revenue grew 10.68% to RM1.62 billion from RM1.46 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share improved to 4.63 sen from 3.46 sen, the numbers forecast operator’s (NFO) bourse filing on Wednesday showed. Sports Toto has declared a fourth interim dividend of 2.5 sen, bringing the total payout to nine sen for the financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023) — versus 8.7 sen in FY2022 — to be paid on Oct 20.

$HIBISCS (5199.MY)$ : Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd's annual revenue surpassed the RM2 billion mark for the first time in the financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023), as it incorporated the full-year contribution from the assets of Peninsula Hibiscus Group (formerly Repsol Exploración’s upstream assets), which it acquired in January last year for US$212.5 million. Net profit for the year came in at RM400.52 million, down 38% from RM652.94 million in FY2022, mainly because the previous year had incorporated a negative goodwill or bargain purchase gain of RM317.32 million. Excluding the negative goodwill, full-year earnings grew 19.3% from FY2022, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rising to RM1.27 billion from RM1.08 billion, as group revenue climbed 38% to RM2.34 billion from RM1.7 billion. The group declared a third interim dividend of half a sen per share, translating into total dividend of two sen for FY2023, comparable to its payout for FY2022. Separately, the group proposed to consolidate every five existing Hibiscus Petroleum shares into two shares to reduce volatility in its share price.

$AHEALTH (7090.MY)$ : Apex Healthcare Bhd posted a more than 14-fold rise in net profit to RM329.48 million for 2QFY2023 from RM23.49 million a year ago. Revenue rose marginally by 2.76% to RM215.03 million from RM209.25 million last year, driven by the sales of pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products and medical devices to both private and public sector customers. Revenue was also driven by strong overseas demand for its Xepa product, especially in Singapore. The group declared an interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share, payable on Sept 19.

$HSPLANT (5138.MY)$ : Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd posted a net profit of RM9.42 million for 2QFY2023, its lowest quarterly earnings since a net loss in 1QFY2020. Year-on-year, net profit dropped 86% from RM66.9 million, which the company said was due to lower average selling prices of all palm products, higher production cost and losses from adjustments to fair value of biological assets. Hap Seng Plantations also said revenue declined by 31% to RM168.8 million for 2QFY2023, from RM246.86 million a year ago. The group declared a first interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share — as opposed to five sen for the corresponding quarter last year — to be paid on Sept 21.

$ITMAX (5309.MY)$ : Smart city integrated system and solutions provider ITMAX System Bhd reported a 72.21% jump in its net profit to RM15.12 million for 2QFY2023, from RM8.78 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago, as revenue climbed 55.25% on increased contribution from all revenue services other than trading. The group, which is looking to continue its growth by expanding its service offerings and expanding into other geographical territories and segments, announced it is acquiring a 70% stake in Aim-Force Software Sdn Bhd (AFSSB) for RM7.18 million.

$MBMR (5983.MY)$ : MBM Resources Bhd's second quarter net profit fell 29.88% to RM51.93 million, from RM74.06 million a year before, amid lower contribution from its motor trading, auto parts manufacturing and share of results of associates. Revenue sank 3.13% to RM539.57 million from RM557.02 million in 2QFY2022. Despite the weaker quarterly results, the group declared a first interim dividend of six sen per share and a special dividend of 20 sen per share, both payable on Sept 22.

$TSH (9059.MY)$ : TSH Resources Bhd's net profit tumbled 81.58% to RM10.56 million or 0.77 sen per share for 2QFY2023, from RM57.34 million or 4.15 sen per share a year earlier. The decline in profit was due to lower revenue, which fell by 39.55% from RM424.41 million to RM256.57 million as average prices of crude palm oil and palm kernel dropped. This was also impacted by lower profit contributions from an associate company, which declined by 73% to RM1.82 million from RM6.79 million in 2QFY2022. Share of profit of joint ventures also shrank 83% to RM1.57 million from RM10.9 million.

$AMWAY (6351.MY)$ : Amway (M) Holdings Bhd issued a profit warning for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023) as inflation took a toll on consumers’ purchasing power and spending appetite. The group’s net profit more than doubled to RM76.9 million in FY2022 on annual revenue of RM1.514 billion. Earnings per share soared to 46.8 sen from 22.3 sen in FY2021. For 2QFY2023, it posted a net profit of RM17.74 million, an 18.5% increase from RM14.98 million a year before, due to price hikes and lower operating expenses. However, its quarterly revenue was marginally lower at RM343.69 million, against RM354.62 million a year ago.

$POS (4634.MY)$ : Pos Malaysia Bhd continued to bleed in 2QFY2023, with its net loss widening to RM27 million from RM5.25 million a year ago. Loss per share swelled to 3.45 sen from 0.67 sen. This is Pos Malaysia’s 20th consecutive quarterly net loss. Revenue fell 10.06% to RM465.2 million from RM517.26 million in 2QFY2022. “We operate in a very challenging environment, and we will continue to navigate those challenges by focusing on our variable costs, network rationalisation and commercial workstreams,” Pos Malaysia group chief executive officer Charles Brewer said in a statement.