KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): Pharmaniaga Bhd shares rose on Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday (April 18) after the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed that the company’s concession agreement to provide medicine and medical supplies to the ministry’s facilities was extended for 10 more years.

The counter closed the day six sen or 19.05% higher at 37.5 sen, its highest level since Feb 28.

Pharmaniaga registered a trading volume of 40.44 million shares compared to 21.65 million on Monday (April 17), and a 200-day average of 38.75 million shares.

At Tuesday’s closing price, the pharmaceutical company’s market capitalisation was RM491.33 million.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa confirmed in the afternoon that its concession agreement with Pharmaniaga, which has been classified as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company, has been extended.

Pharmaniaga’s wholly owned subsidiary Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd was initially granted a concession agreement by the MOH in 1994 to supply public health facilities with medicines and medical supplies. The agreement was extended by six months last December until end-June to facilitate a new agreement.

Pharmaniaga fell into PN17 status after it recorded negative equity following its largest ever quarterly net loss of RM664.39 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022, against a net profit of RM85.47 million a year earlier, while revenue improved 21.2% to RM862.72 million.

Pharmaniaga is 52%-owned by Boustead Holdings Bhd, which in turn is 75.05%-owned by Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT). LTAT also has a direct 8.6% interest in Pharmaniaga.

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