KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 30): Here is a brief recap of some corporate announcements that made the news on Tuesday involving Public Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Capital A Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Berjaya Corp Bhd, Inari Amertron Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, QL Resources Bhd and Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd.
Public Bank Bhd's net profit rose 14% year-on-year to RM1.62 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023), from RM1.42 billion a year earlier, driven by continued healthy loan and deposit growth, prudent cost management as well as stable asset quality. The banking group said quarterly revenue rose to RM6.26 billion, from RM4.97 billion a year earlier. Public Bank also declared a dividend of nine sen per share, to be paid on Sept 22.
RHB Bank Bhd’s net profit rose 28% to RM808.70 million for 2QFY2023 from RM630.07 million a year ago, driven by higher allowances for credit losses written back, partly offset by lower net funding income and higher operating expenses. Quarterly revenue jumped 37.2% to RM4.05 billion from RM2.95 billion in 2QFY2022. RHB declared an interim dividend of 15 sen per share, amounting to RM642.95 million which will be paid at a date to be determined later.
IHH Healthcare Bhd’s net profit dropped 50.7% to RM301.83 million or 3.43 sen per share in 2QFY2023 from RM612.10 million or 6.69 sen per share a year earlier. The healthcare provider said earnings were impacted by foreign exchange losses following the Turkish lira’s devaluation in June. In 2QFY2022, the group had seen a positive effect of RM294.6 million from exceptional items. Revenue for the quarter expanded 6.9% to RM4.67 billion from RM4.37 billion as the group saw more patients, accompanied by higher revenue intensity across its markets. IHH declared an interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share, to be paid on Oct 27.
Separately, IHH announced the appointment of Dr Prem Kumar Nair as its new chief executive officer, effective Oct 1. Prem Kumar is a physician and healthcare executive with over three and a half decades of experience in both public and private healthcare sectors. Meanwhile, Joe Sim has stepped down as IHH’s chief operating officer "to pursue other career opportunities".
Axiata Group Bhd's net loss widened to RM576.21 million for 2QFY2023 from RM106.38 million a year ago. The group attributed the wider loss to lower share of results from Celcom Axiata Bhd, which is no longer its wholly owned subsidiary after a merger with Digi.Com Bhd to form CelcomDigi Bhd, as well as its Nepal-based telecommunications operator Ncell Pte Ltd's non-cash impairment of assets and capital gains tax write-off following the unfavourable outcome from the bilateral investment treaty arbitration proceedings in June. These were, however, offset by a RM402 million gain from the final closing adjustments to the Celcom-Digi merger. Quarterly revenue for Axiata rose 15.33% to RM5.99 billion, from RM5.20 billion for 2QFY2022. Axiata declared an interim dividend of five sen per share.
UMW Holdings Bhd's net profit jumped 183% year-on-year to RM303.55 million for 2QFY2023 from RM107.19 million a year ago, on higher contributions from all segments driven by sustained demand. The group said quarterly revenue rose to RM4.48 billion, from RM3.73 billion a year earlier.
Capital A Bhd posted a net profit of RM1.12 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023), compared with a net loss of RM931.22 million a year earlier, thanks to strong recovery in demand from both domestic and international travel. The last time Capital A achieved a net profit of more than RM1 billion was in 1QFY2018, when it reported RM1.14 billion. This is the group's third straight quarterly profit and in line with the improvement in the overall performance of its aviation segment.
The rise in earnings was helped by a gain of RM1.37 billion from the remeasurement of an associate to subsidiary, Asia Aviation Public Company Ltd Group (AAV), in June. Quarterly revenue more than doubled to RM3.15 billion, the group's highest since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Southeast Asia largest aluminium smelter Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd reported a 25% year-on-year decline in its net profit for 2QFY2023 amid a softening of metal selling prices, squeezing operating margins. Net profit for 2QFY2023 dropped to RM305.79 million or 3.73 sen per share, from RM409.17 million or 4.97 sen per share a year ago. Press Metal declared a second interim dividend of 1.75 sen, with an ex-date of Sept 15. Revenue for 2QFY2023 fell 6.2% to RM3.76 billion from RM4.0 billion a year ago, as a delay in global economic recovery caused an easing in aluminium demand amid subdued manufacturing activities worldwide, according to group chief executive officer Tan Sri Paul Koon Poh Keong.
PPB Group Bhd reported a 70.75% drop in net profit to RM202.81 million for 2QFY2023, from RM693.41 million a year earlier, dragged by lower contribution from its 18.8%-owned Singapore-listed Wilmar International Ltd. This is the group's lowest quarterly net profit since 2QFY2021, when it posted a net profit of RM183.47 million. Revenue for the quarter slid 4.01% to RM1.48 billion, from RM1.54 billion a year earlier. The group declared an interim dividend of 12 sen per share, payable on Sept 22.
Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) posted a net loss of RM79.33 million in the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2023 (4QFY2023), against a net profit of RM48.63 million a year ago, due to higher tax expenses. The tax expenses increased to RM77.99 million from RM31.16 million in 4QFY2022, according to the group's bourse filing on Tuesday. Quarterly revenue rose 8.9% to RM2.56 billion from RM2.35 billion, contributed by higher revenue due to improved performance from all business segments.
Inari Amertron Bhd, often regarded as one of the bellwethers for local semiconductor-linked stocks, reported a 23% decline in net profit for 4QFY2023 as an industry slowdown continued to weigh on revenue, coupled with higher energy costs. Net profit for 4QFY2023 fell to RM66.31 million or 1.78 sen per share from RM86.22 million or 2.33 sen per share, said the country’s leading outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services provider. The group declared its fourth interim dividend of two sen, with an entitlement date of Sept 15 and a payment date of Oct 6. Revenue for the quarter fell 11% to RM298.75 million from RM336.18 million a year ago due to “comparatively lower loading volume across all business segments”.
Glove maker Supermax Corp Bhd posted an annual net loss of RM149.45 million for its financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023), against an annual net profit of RM718.91 million in FY2022, as earnings were weighed by lower sales and average selling price (ASP) for gloves, amid persistent oversupply in the market. Full-year revenue was RM821.86 million, down 69.42% from RM2.69 billion. The group reported a quarterly net loss of RM7.17 million for 4QFY2023, marking the group’s third straight loss-making quarter — albeit with net loss narrowing from RM39.92 million in 3QFY2023 and RM108.07 million in 2QFY2023. The group made a net profit of RM19.53 million in 4QFY2022. Quarterly revenue fell 25.6% to RM223.37 million, from RM300.23 million.
Agro-food producer QL Resources Bhd’s net profit rose 12.6% to RM92.81 million in the first quarter ended June 30, 2023 (1QFY2024) from RM82.42 million a year earlier, thanks to higher contributions from almost all segments except for its FamilyMart convenience store chain business. Quarterly revenue increased by 5.1% to RM1.6 billion from RM1.52 billion.
Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, which reported lower first quarter earnings on Tuesday, said pressure on net interest margin (NIM) will remain due to deposit pricing and competition. The group's net profit fell 29.04% to RM150.54 million for 1QFY2024 from RM212.16 million a year earlier, while revenue declined 1.65% to RM466.26 million from RM474.07 million. NIM came down to 2.43% from 2.57% previously.