MY Morning Wrap | UMW Group Records 16% YoY Sales Growth, Selling 396,820 Units in 11 Months

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference turned out to be a pivot party that sent stocks higher. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ climbed to a record 37,094.85 before closing at 37,090.24. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ closed 1.4% higher at 4,707.07, the highest since January 2022. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ also advanced 1.4% to 14,733.96.

$UMW (4588.MY)$: UMW Holdings Bhd's automotive sales saw an increase of 8% to 42,315 units in November compared to the previous year, with a boost from Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), its associate company. As a result, the group's year-to-date (YTD) sales performance rose by 16%, reaching 396,820 units compared to 341,390 units registered the prior year. Although UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) delivered 1.71% fewer units in November than last year, selling 10,263 units instead of 10,442, its YTD sales expanded by 8% to 97,705 units from 90,595 units sold the previous year.

$EWINT (5283.MY)$: In the fourth quarter ended October 31, 2023 (4QFY2023), Eco World International Bhd (EWI) recorded a narrowed net loss of RM37.69 million compared to RM95.73 million in the previous year. The improvement was attributed to a forex gain of RM15.53 million, as opposed to a forex loss of RM5.33 million in 4QFY2022, due to the stronger British pound against the ringgit. However, quarterly revenue declined by 33.82% to RM28.55 million from RM43.14 million, mainly because of the lower number of units sold. For FY2023, EWI's net loss decreased to RM85.37 million from RM234.42 million in the previous year, despite revenue declining by 34.49% to RM104.8 million from RM159.96 million.

$SAPNRG (5218.MY)$: Practice Note 17 (PN17)-classified Sapura Energy Bhd has secured requisite approval-in-principle and written confirmation from the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee for a proposed debt restructuring scheme from at least 75% of its financiers of approximately RM10.3 billion multi-currency financing facilities. Separately, its net profit more than doubled to RM30.89 million in its third quarter ended Oct 31, 2023 (3QFY2024) from RM10.18 million a year earlier on higher profits from associates and forex gains. Revenue was down 13.42% to RM1.1 billion from RM1.28 billion in 3QFY2023, mainly due to a 17% decline in contribution from its engineering and construction (E&C) segment. For 9MFY2024, net profit more than doubled to RM219.78 million from RM99.52 million in 9MFY2023, although revenue slipped 4.06% to RM3.2 billion from RM3.33 billion.

$SCIPACK (8125.MY)$: In the first quarter ended October 31, 2023 (1QFY2024), Scientex Packaging (Ayer Keroh) Bhd recorded a net profit of RM7.71 million, down by 37.2% from RM12.28 million in the previous year due to lower revenue and higher electricity costs. Quarterly revenue also decreased by 19% to RM172.97 million from RM213.92 million, mainly because of lower export sales. However, the group's net profit for the quarter was higher than the preceding quarter (4QFY2023), which saw a profit of RM149,000, while its revenue was lower quarter-on-quarter against RM185.32 million in 4QFY2023.

$AWC (7579.MY)$: AWC Bhd, an engineering services provider, has received approval from its shareholders to acquire the remaining 49% equity interest in Stream Group Sdn Bhd, which specializes in automated waste collection systems, from Premium NXL Sdn Bhd (PNSB). In addition, AWC will acquire a 51% equity interest in Premium Patents Sdn Bhd, which owns the patent to the 'WasteStream Shuttle' system. The company will pay a total of RM110 million in cash for both acquisitions.