This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 5, 2026 - January 11, 2026

AS Bursa Malaysia celebrates a two-year streak of record IPO listings, the newly listed companies are beginning to face a reality check.

The Edge revisits the 51 companies (excluding the LEAP Market) that floated their shares on the local stock exchange in 2024, including 11 on the Main Market. We take a close look at their share price and earnings performance as well as dividend payout a year after their listing.

As at Dec 29, 2025, of the 51 listings in 2024, 27 are trading above their initial public offering (IPO) price, while the remaining 24 have slipped below theirs. (See table)

Beyond their share price performance, some of these companies have declared dividends to reward shareholders but some sank into losses.

According to available data, 30 companies on the list declared dividends for the financial year. Some quarters see dividend payment as an indication of cash flow strength and earnings visibility.

On the broader market, the FBM KLCI was battered by sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump in early April. Fears of escalating trade tension dragged the benchmark index to a low of 1,400.59 on April 9, 2025. It has since rebounded about 20% to end the year at 1,680.11 points. The index was up only 2.3% in 2025, making it a laggard among Asian indices.

Did investing in the 2024 IPOs pay off after a year?

Overall, the Main Market listings fared better than their peers on the ACE Market. Of the 11 companies that debuted on the Main Market in 2024, most are trading above their respective offer prices, suggesting that larger, more established listings provided relatively stronger post-IPO performance although it is not always the case.

Leading the charge among the Main Market IPOs is retail juggernaut 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd (KL:99SMART), which was made a FBM KLCI constituent stock three months after its debut at an offer price of RM1.65 per share.

Investors who participated in the 99 Speed Mart IPO have had a vintage year. Those who have held onto their shares until now are currently sitting on a capital gain of 131%, or RM2.16, based on the stock’s closing price of RM3.81 on Dec 29, 2025. Meanwhile, the mini-market chain operator’s market capitalisation has soared to RM32 billion.

99 Speed Mart raised RM2.36 billion, including RM1.7 billion from an offer for sale of 1.028 billion shares by founder and CEO Lee Thiam Wah and his wife Ng Lee Tieng.

The group posted a robust net profit of RM457 million for the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2025 (9MFY2025), up 25% from a year ago, while revenue grew nearly 13% year on year (y-o-y) to RM8.36 billion.

99 Speed Mart declared a special dividend of 2.5 sen per share and an interim dividend of two sen per share, lifting its year-to-date total dividend to 4.5 sen per share.

Given the earnings numbers and dividend, it is not hard to fathom why its share price has rallied that much. The stock was trading at a price-earnings ratio (PER) of 55.72 times as at Dec 29, up from 34.7 times at its IPO, making it the most expensive KLCI component stock in terms of PER.

Another Main Market outperformer is Sabah-based beverage manufacturer Life Water Bhd (KL:LWSABAH), with its share price more than doubling since listing.

The stock has gained 120% to RM1.43, from its IPO price of 65 sen. It ended its maiden trading day at 94 sen in November last year, up 44.6% from its issue price. The public portion of the IPO was oversubscribed by 32.19 times, raising RM81.87 million.

Life Water’s net profit went up 6.76% to RM30 million for the financial year ended June 30, 2025 on the back of a 3.86% growth in revenue to RM172.96 million. Earnings per share came in higher at 6.34 sen versus 5.94 sen a year ago.

The bottled drinking water manufacturer, which enjoys a high teen net profit margin, declared an interim dividend of 1.59 sen, or RM7.52 million in total.

Upstream oil palm plantation company Johor Plantations Group Bhd (KL:JPG) also delivered good returns. Its share price has risen nearly 92% or 77 sen to RM1.54 versus its IPO price of 84 sen. This is followed by Keyfield International Bhd (KL:KEYFIELD), whose stock price has jumped 71% or 64 sen to RM1.61 from its issue price of 90 sen.

Keyfield International emerged as the highest dividend payer among its 2024’s IPO cohort, declaring a total dividend of six sen in FY2025 ended Sept 30,2025, followed by 99 Speed Mart.

By contrast, their peer MKH Oil Palm (East Kalimantan) Bhd (KL:MKHOP), which debuted on the Main Market that year, has slipped 1.61% or one sen from its IPO price of 62 sen to 61 sen.

Johor Plantations Group and MKH Oil Palm paid four-sen dividends each for FY2025.

Another star performer is Johor-based pawnbroker Well Chip Group Bhd (KL:WELLCHIP), which has benefited from record gold prices. Its share price closed at RM1.62, representing a 40.87% or 47 sen premium over its offer price of RM1.15. The group’s net profit surged 77% to RM61.88 million for 9MFY2025 ended Sept 30,2025 on a revenue of RM196.32 million.

Sabah-based construction firm Azam Jaya Bhd (KL:AZAMJAYA) has seen its share price rise 34.6% or 27 sen to RM1.05 from its offer price of 78 sen while security seals specialist Mega Fortris Bhd (KL:MEGAFB) has gained 19.4% or 13 sen from its issue price of 67 sen.

In contrast, highway concessionaire Prolintas Infra Business Trust (KL:PLINTAS), a unit of Permodalan Nasional Bhd, has edged up 1.05% or one sen to 96 sen. Nonetheless, the highway trust declared a 3.18 sen dividend.

Prolintas’ IPO raised RM445.3 million in proceeds, the largest listing since health supplement company DXN Holdings Bhd (KL:DXN) raised RM653 million in May 2023.

Among the ACE Market listings in 2024, TSA Group Bhd (KL:TSA) has declared a three-sen dividend while Solar District Cooling Group Bhd (KL:SDCG) and Kawan Renergy Bhd (KL:KENERGY) have paid out 1.5 sen and 1.25 sen per share respectively.

The 2024 ACE Market debutants delivered more polarised outcomes. Of the 40 companies listed that year, 19 are trading above their IPO price while 21 are trading below theirs.

ACE Market-listed KJTS Group Bhd (KL:KJTS) is the top performer among the 2024 listings, with its share price surging 437% since its debut. The spike has been driven by a strong earnings momentum and investor optimism about its long-term growth prospects.

KJTS Group, a beneficiary of Malaysia’s data centre build-up, is trading at a PER of 58.39 times compared with its IPO valuation of about 26 times.

For 9MFY2025 ended Sept 30, KJTS’s net profit more than doubled to RM13.33 million from RM4.91 million a year earlier while revenue climbed 50.55% to RM148.61 million from RM98.72 million. During the period, KJTS declared an interim single-tier dividend of 0.406 sen per share compared with its earnings per share of 1.94 sen.

Other notable gainers include Elridge Energy Holdings Bhd (KL:ELRIDGE), whose share price has jumped 251.7% from its issue price of 29 sen to RM1.02. The company is involved in the manufacturing and trading of biomass fuel products, particularly palm kernel shells (PKS) and wood pellets.

Other 2024 ACE Market debutants that have done well include Master Tec Group Bhd (KL:MTEC), whose share price has tripled to RM1.14 from its IPO price of 39 sen; UUE Holdings Bhd (KL:UUE) which has gained 129% or 31 sen to 55 sen; and Kawan Renergy which has jumped 113.3% or 34 sen to 64 sen from 30 sen.

While some of the stocks have been able to maintain their upward momentum, others’ valuation has swelled not because of share price rally but weak earnings performance.

Automotive cover and seat manufacturer Feytech Holdings Bhd (KL:FEYTECH) has seen its share price more than halved, dropping 61.88% or 49.5 sen to 30.5 sen from its issue price of 80 sen. This was despite the stock shooting up 37.5% on its maiden trading day to close at RM1.10 against its IPO price of 80 sen.

Similarly, TMK Chemical Bhd (KL:TMK), which specialises in chemical management and storage solutions, has fallen 21.14% or 37 sen to RM1.38 from its issue price of RM1.75. The share price rose 9.7% to RM1.92 on its listing day.

Animation company Kucingko Bhd (KL:KUCINGKO) emerged as the worst performer, losing 70% of its value. The stock has lost 21 sen to nine sen from its IPO price of 30 sen, weighed down by a weak financial performance — it is one of the few companies that reported a net loss of RM9.53 million for 9MFY2025.

Another laggard among 2024 IPOs is Carlo Rino Group Bhd (KL:CARLORINO), whose shares remain well below their IPO price one year after listing. The stock has fallen 55.56% to 12 sen, from its IPO price of 27 sen, following its transfer from the LEAP Market in December 2024.

The fashion accessories retailer is controlled by Datuk Sri Chiang Fong Yee and his father Chiang Sang Sem, the founder of Main Market-listed Bonia Corp Bhd (KL:BONIA). The weak share price performance mirrors softer fundamentals, with the group’s net profit falling 18.85% to RM15.67 million in the financial year ended June 30, 2025 (FY2025), as revenue declined 5.7% to RM98.87 million.

At Frozen seafood company Ocean Fresh Bhd’s (KL:OFB), its PER has ballooned to 112.07 times, as it reported a nearly 72% y-o-y contraction in net profit to RM611,000 and a 4.8% drop in revenue to RM126.56 million from RM132.93 million. It had debuted at 28 sen with a PER of 8.47 times. But since its listing, the stock has fallen 30.36% to 19.5 sen. 

Meanwhile, air-fragrance maker Vanzo Holdings Bhd (KL:VANZO), which was valued at a PER of 13.76 times in its listing exercise, is now trading at a PER of more than 50 times due to a huge drop in profit.

The air-fragrance maker’s share price has since slipped nearly 7% from its IPO level. For the full financial year ended Sept 30, 2025, Vanzo’s net profit fell almost 76% y-o-y to RM1.18 million from RM4.91 million even as revenue rose 21.12% to RM60.5 million. 

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