KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): Critical Holdings Bhd (KL:CHB) surged on Wednesday after the mechanical-and-electrical engineering firm secured its largest contract to-date.
The award worth RM772.49 million is also nearly 10 times the average contract size won by Critical Holdings, Maybank Investment Bank said and raised its earnings forecasts by up to 102%. The job also marks its expansion into engineering, procurement and construction, the house noted.
“We believe the successful execution of this project will strengthen CHB's track record and broaden its addressable market,” Maybank Investment said.
Shares of Critical Holdings rose 29% or 32 sen to RM1.41, the maximum allowed for the day, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM524 million. Trading volume totalled 4.72 million shares.
Critical Holdings has soared 62% since the start of 2026 to new record high while all three analysts covering the company are bullish on bets of more jobs from semiconductor and data centre clients amid a boom in demand for artificial intelligence.
On Tuesday, Critical Holdings announced the contract for the development of a high-technology industrial facility at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah from an unidentified US-based multinational corporation that supplies wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry.
Post-announcement of the contract, the average target price has also risen to RM2.22, implying further upside of 57% from the current price. Phillip Capital is the most positive with target price of RM2.55.
Critical Holdings, which now has outstanding jobs worth RM1.06 billion, is still in “the early stages of a meaningful valuation re-rating, reflecting its successful move into higher-value turnkey projects, record order book and stronger earnings growth prospects”, the research house added.
The company will likely report a net profit of RM25.9 million, or seven sen per share, for the financial year ending June 2026 (FY2026); in FY2027, however, earnings could double to RM52.6 million, according to Phillip Capital’s revised estimates.