KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): Shares of UWC Bhd (KL:UWC) fell by more than 15% on Wednesday, prompting Bursa Malaysia to suspend the counter’s intraday short selling (IDSS).

The regulator said in a filing that the IDSS of UWC will only be reactivated at 8.30am on Thursday.

Shares of the Penang-based integrated engineering solutions provider fell 9.88% to RM2.19 as at noon market break on Wednesday. The counter then extended its losses to RM2.04 at market close, down 16.05% or 39 sen from the previous day’s close of RM2.43, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.25 billion.

Year-to-date, UWC has fallen more than 40%. While it is not immediately clear why the counter is experiencing such a downfall, the company is currently lagging its performance in the previous financial year.

For the nine months ended April 30, 2024 (9MFY2024), UWC posted a net profit of RM13.18 million, down 75.2% from the RM53.07 million it recorded in the previous year’s corresponding period, as revenue dropped 25.5% to RM172.58 million from RM231.78 million. Its financial year-end is on July 31, 2024.

Of the five research houses covering UWC, three have it on “buy”, including Nomura, Phillip Capital and JP Morgan, while the remaining two have recommended holding the stock, according to Bloomberg. The consensus 12-month target price is RM3.34.