KUALA LUMPUR (May 10): Shares of MCE Holdings Bhd (KL:MCEHLDG) rose to their highest level in at least two decades after the automotive parts manufacturer announced that Brahmal Vasudevan of the private equity firm Creador is its newest substantial shareholder.
MCE surged as much as 26% or 44 sen to RM2.15 in the early morning session on Friday before paring some gains to trade at RM1.96, still up 25 sen or 15%, making the stock the fourth top gainer on Bursa Malaysia.
At RM1.96 per share, MCE's market capitalisation stood at RM242.12 million. Year to date, the counter is up 37.35%.
With more than 4.69 million shares traded, the stock was also at its most active since Jan 22, 2024.
Currently, the stock is not covered by any institutional analysts.
On Thursday, the company announced that Brahmal raised his stake to 5.02% by adding another 100,000 shares to his 6.2 million shares — above the 5% threshold to be considered a substantial shareholder.
According to MCE’s latest annual report, Dulcet One Holdings Sdn Bhd is the group's largest shareholder with a 19.1% stake, followed by Woo Chiew Loong (8.9%).
MCE is en route for its third consecutive year of profit, rebounding from four years in the red from the financial year ended July 31, 2018 (FY2018) to FY2021.
In 1HFY2024, MCE's net profit rose 21.26% to RM9.4 million from RM7.75 million, as revenue increased 4.7% to RM81.33 million from RM77.68 million.
The group has two facilities in Johor Bahru and Klang catering to the manufacturing of automotive parts. It is currently planning to diversify into the healthcare sector, but details are not finalised amid the subdued economic environment, as mentioned in the group's latest annual report.
Based on trailing 12-month earnings per share of 13.79 sen, MCE last traded at a historical price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21 times. The group paid dividends of 5.5 sen per share in FY2023 and an interim dividend of 1.5 sen for FY2024.