KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Timber product manufacturer NWP Holdings Bhd’s shares will be traded under its new name Auro Holdings Bhd, with effect from next Tuesday (June 27), to reflect a new corporate identity under its business activities and brand image.

The counter’s new short name will be “Auro”, replacing the old stock short name “NWP”, the company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday.

NWP, in a circular to shareholders last month, said the name change is intended to further enhance the marketability of its products. It said that 10 out of 16 shareholders present in an extraordinary general meeting on June 15 voted for the name change.

The company first announced its proposed diversification into the sand dredging business on July 26 last year.

On the same day, its unit NWP Marine Sdn Bhd inked a 51:49 joint venture (JV) agreement with OneOne Auro Marine Sdn Bhd to undertake contractor works to dredge, transport and load marine sand from concession areas onto mother vessels for export purposes, or to local reclamation sites for reclamation purposes, a filing with Bursa read.

In conjunction with the JV known as NOOA Marine Sdn Bhd, NWP proposed to diversify its existing business activities to include sand mining, trading and export of sand, and related business activities. It also proposed a private placement of up to 10% of the total number of issued shares in the company.

According to bourse filings, the private placement was completed on Feb 8, and raised total gross proceeds of RM11.36 million.

On April 7, NWP announced in another bourse filing that the JV had inked a RM36 million deal with China Gezhouba Group Ltd to mine marine sand offshore Melaka.

NWP executive director Tan Jyy Yeen, in a follow-up statement on April 25, said additional revenue and earnings from the sand-dredging business put the group in a strong position to turn profitable in the financial year ending Feb 28, 2024 (FY2024), in addition to ongoing cost-cutting initiatives.

For FY2023, NWP's net loss narrowed by 70% to RM5.25 million from RM17.37 million a year earlier, while revenue fell 19% to RM2.63 million from RM3.23 million.

The company also recorded lower expenses following the management’s cost-cutting measures, which resulted in a lower headcount. Its office was also relocated to a site with lower rental.

At the time of writing on Friday, NWP shares were unchanged at 20.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM118.7 million. Year to date, the stock had fallen 10.87% from 23 sen on Jan 3.

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