Shares of Measat Global Bhd surged 31 sen to close at RM3.80 yesterday, their highest level since Feb 12, 2004.
Trading volume on the counter was relatively heavy with 8.3 million shares changing hands.
The satellite operator has garnered considerable interest since mid-March this year with no real reason for its meteoric rise. The stock, as with other companies in the stable of tycoon T Ananda Krishnan, periodically attracts speculative interest on rumours of potential corporate exercises.
Year-to-date, the stock has gained more than 95%, outpacing the benchmark FBM KLCI by about 89%.
Measat’s largest shareholders are Ananda, who controls about 59.56% of the company, and state-controlled utility giant Telekom Malaysia Bhd, which has 15.39%.
It is worth noting that the top 30 shareholders of Measat control about 82.57% of its 389.93 million share base.
For its first quarter ended March 31, 2010 (1QFY10), Measat posted a net profit of RM49.79 million on the back of RM70.47 million in revenue. For the corresponding period a year ago, the company suffered a net loss of RM41.48 million on RM54.05 million in sales. Earnings per share in 1QFY10 amounted to 12.77 sen, while its net asset per share stood at RM5.08 as at March 31, 2010.
In the notes accompanying its financials, Measat said the better showing was a result of the depreciation of the US dollar against the ringgit. This had resulted in a foreign exchange translation loss on US dollar cash deposits of RM4.4 million (versus a loss of RM1.9 million in 4QFY09), and a much larger foreign exchange translation gain on US dollar denominated borrowings and performance incentives of RM41.7 million (compared with a gain of RM14 million in 4QFY09).
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 28, 2010.
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