MY Morning Wrap | Bursa Malaysia Extends Gains to Open Higher on Thursday

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ wavered between small gains and losses throughout the day, eking out a 0.2% increase after Powell, the current Fed chair, suggested the central bank might consider pausing rate hikes at its September meeting. The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ edged less than 0.1% lower, while the tech-heavy $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ fell 0.1%.

$ABMB(2488)$: Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd is targeting loan growth of between 8% and 10% for financial year 2024 (FY24), which will be driven by its core segment, namely, the small medium enterprises (SMEs) and commercial businesses. Alliance Bank group chief executive officer Kellee Kam Chee Khiong said the bank expects to see both loan segments growing by double digits, after expanding 13.1% and 5.2% respectively in FY23. As Alliance Bank had gone through a derisking exercise on its corporate book in FY23, it foresees its corporate business to post positive numbers in present financial year.

$CIMB(1023)$: CIMB Group Holdings Bhdwill likely see a bottoming out of its net interest margin (NIM) in the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2Q23). Following a recent meeting with CIMB's management, analysts pointed out that the second-largest banking group in Malaysia would likely see a gradual recovery in NIM in the final six months of 2023.“We understand that margin pressure persisted and NIMs are likely to have further compressed quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in 2Q23, but only to a marginal extent,” Maybank Investment Bank (IB) Research said.

$TANCO(2429)$: Tanco Holdings Bhd's subsidiary, Tanco Builders Sdn Bhd, has been awarded a RM82.76 million contract from Win Global Builder Sdn Bhd (WGBSB) for a Rumah Selangorku development project. The project involves constructing one block of Rumah Selangorku apartments consisting of 400 units, along with a kindergarten, parking lots, and various facilities such as a surau, management office, hall, shops, swimming pool, refuse chamber, and guard post. The company anticipates a positive impact on its future earnings due to this contract.

$PECCA-CA(5271CA)$: Pecca Group Bhd's unit, Pecca Aviation Services Sdn Bhd, has inked a memorandum of understanding with France-based Aero Cabin Solutions SAS (ACS) to explore opportunities in the aircraft interiors market in the Asia-Pacific. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday (July 26), Pecca said the proposed business venture includes the forming of a one-stop aircraft solution centre based in Malaysia to supply upholstery seat covers, as well as to manage, repair and refurbish aircraft interiors under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approved capabilities.

$JAKS(4723)$: JAKS Resources Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, JAKS Power Sdn Bhd, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Zero Carbon Energy Europe GmbH (ZC Energy) to participate in a solar photovoltaic project in Tuscany, Italy. The project has an installed capacity of 63.3 MW and is located around Grosseto and Firenzuola, it said in a statement today.The MOU grants JAKS Power an exclusivity period of three months to conduct due diligence before signing a definitive project investment agreement with ZC Energy.

$SASBADI(5252)$: Book publisher Sasbadi Holdings Bhd's net profit more than doubled to RM4.61 million in the third quarter ended May 31, 2023 (3QFY2023), on higher revenue mainly driven by its print publishing division. EPS increased to 1.07 sen from 0.48 sen a year ago. Revenue for the quarter rose 51.78% to RM29.4 million, from RM19.37 million a year ago, due to strong sales of its academic publications for the new school academic year, which began in March this year, and contracts secured from the Ministry of Education (MOE).

$DAYANG(5141)$: Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd said that its subsidiary, Dayang Enterprise Sdn Bhd (DESB), has been awarded a contract amendment and extension for the provision of Pan Malaysia Maintenance, Construction, and Modification (PM-MCM) from JX Nippon. The contract extension will be in effect for approximately one year, five months, and fifteen days, starting from July 17, 2023 until December 31, 2024. The value of the contract will be based on work orders issued by JX Nippon throughout the contract duration.

$CLMT(5180)$: The net property income (NPI) of CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (CLMT) soared 51.8% YoY to $16.6m (RM56.8m) in 2Q23, its latest financial statement revealed. In a bourse filing, the CLMT's manager said the first full quarter contribution from the newly acquired Queensbay Mall and higher rental income from the majority of the REIT's retail properties drove the increase in its NPI. Given the higher NPI, the REIT's distribution per unit also increased, rising 6.0% YoY to $0.0031 (RM0.0106) in 2Q23.

$AXREIT(5106)$: Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis REIT) reported a 7.58% decrease in net property income for the second quarter of 2023, reaching RM58.43 million, mainly due to lower property income, higher expenses, and reduced gains on financial liabilities. Revenue for the quarter also declined by 5.6% to RM68.45 million compared to the previous year, it told the stock exchange today. Axis REIT declared a second interim income distribution of 2.05 sen per unit, payable on August 30.