Stocks To Watch - Redtone, Pensonic, MBSB, rubber glove firms, Tenaga

KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): Based on Bursa Malaysia announcements and news flow today, stocks to watch tomorrow (August 1) may include the following  companies:

REDTONE INTERNATIONAL BHD [] reported a 520% jump in fourth quarter net profit from a year earlier. The rise came mainly on the telecommunication-services provider's higher income from its data operations, and gains from the sale of non-core and loss-making business.

Redtone said net profit rose to RM15.31 million in the fourth quarter ended May 31, 2013 (4QFY13) from RM2.47 million. Revenue climbed to RM43.47 million from RM22.74 million.

Cumulative FY13 net profit rose significantly to RM25.21 million from RM2.15 million a year earlier while revenue was higher at RM141.29 million from RM106.98 million. Redtone plans to pay an interim dividend of 1.5 sen a share for 4QFY13.

PENSONIC HOLDINGS BHD []’s net loss narrowed to RM1.5 million in the fourth quarter ended May 31, 2013 (4QFY13) from a net loss of RM12.86 million a year earlier.

The electrical-appliances manufacturer said revenue rose to RM99.63 million from RM90.27 million.

Cumulative FY13 net profit came to RM3.85 million versus a net loss of RM10.62 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to RM362.52 million from RM348.64 million.

MALAYSIA BUILDING SOCIETY BHD [] (MBSB) posted a 76.35% year-on-year growth in net profit for its second quarter ended June 30, 2013 (2QFY13). The lender attributed the net profit increase to higher income from Islamic banking operations, and lower allowance for bad loans.

MBSB said net profit for the quarter was RM165.16 million against the previous year’s RM93.65 million. Revenue meanwhile came to RM614.3 million, a 38.21% growth from the previous corresponding period’s RM444.48 million.

Cumulative first-half net profit came to RM331.3 million. This was almost double the previous corresponding period’s RM173.07 million. Its revenue of RM1.18 billion marked a 42.92% increase from the previous year’s RM823.36 million.

Meanwhile, the weakening ringgit against the US dollar may bode well for export-based firms such as rubber glove manufacturers. These include Top Glove Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, and KOSSAN RUBBER INDUSTRIES BHD [].
 
However, companies like TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [] which has substantial US dollar-denominated debt will see their borrowings expand in local currency terms as the ringgit weakens.

Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com