KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Shares in utilities-to-resorts conglomerate YTL Corp Bhd climbed to another record high on Tuesday driven by investors’ ongoing interest in the stock, amid its latest stellar earnings.

YTL Corp share price climbed 15 sen or 6% to RM2.65 as of 11.43am, valuing the company at RM29.32 billion. It was the fifth most active stock in terms of volume on Bursa Malaysia, with about 37.84 million shares traded. In contrast, the benchmark of FBM KLCI rose 0.25%.

All three analysts covering YTL Corp rated the stock a 'buy' with a median 12-month target price (TP) of RM2.66, Bloomberg showed. The counter has surged over 39% year to date, and 376% in the past year.

YTL Corp's net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (2QFY2024) rose sixfold to RM589.21 million from RM96.91 million a year ago, lifted by stellar results from YTL Power International Bhd as well as Malayan Cement Bhd. Revenue for 2QFY2024 rose by 14.2% to RM7.53 billion from RM6.59 billion.

For the six-month period (1HFY2024), YTL Corp's net profit jumped eight-fold to RM1.1 billion from RM133.53 million in 1HFY2023, while revenue rose by 15% to RM15.1 billion from RM13.1 billion in the same period.

YTL Power International Bhd, in which YTL Corp holds a 55.57% stake, rose 12 sen or 2.96%, translating into a market capitalisation of RM34.1 billion. It has 10 ‘buy’ calls and one ‘hold’ rating with a 12-month median TP of RM4.57.

Both YTL Corp and YTL Power will be members of the MSCI Malaysia Index from Feb 29, as well as constituents of the country’s benchmark index FBM KLCI since Nov 30.