KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Wednesday (Oct 28) may include: Boustead Holdings Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Luxchem Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Atrium Real Estate Investment Trust (Atrium REIT), RGT Bhd, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) and Minetech Resources Bhd.  
 
The Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) has still yet to decide on the privatisation of its debt-laden flagship group Boustead Holdings Bhd, five months after the army fund first expressed consideration for the corporate exercise.  

In view of that, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) granted a further extension of four months until Feb 2, 2021 to LTAT to announce its firm intention in relation to the proposed privatisation. This is the second extension granted by the regulator.  
 
LTAT noted that the SC had advised that it would not grant any further extension of time beyond the new extension date. 

Bursa Malaysia Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 surged more than twofold to a record high of RM121.94 million from RM47.10 million a year earlier, on the back of higher operating revenue.   
 
Bursa said revenue for the quarter jumped to RM237.74 million from RM122.67 million previously. Earnings per share was 15.1 sen versus 5.8 sen earlier. 
 
For the nine months ended Sept 30, Bursa said its net profit jumped 94.5% to RM272.89 million from RM140.29 million in the year-ago period, on the back of revenue of RM568.27 million versus RM373.16 million a year ago.  

Hartalega Holdings Bhd has recorded its best-ever quarterly net profit at RM544.96 million in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, which is about five times the RM103.87 million posted last year. 
 
Earnings per share likewise surged to 15.95 sen versus 3.09 sen previously. Quarterly revenue jumped 89.73% to RM1.35 billion from RM709.42 million in 2QFY2020. 
 
The group attributed the stellar earnings growth to higher sales revenue, higher average selling price, lower material costs and better production efficiency. 
 
For the cumulative six-month period of FY2021, net profit skyrocketed by a whopping 286.34% to RM764.68 million, from RM197.93 million last year, while revenue rose 67.92% to RM2.27 billion from RM1.35 billion. 

Luxchem Corp Bhd’s net profit jumped 65% to RM14.2 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, from RM8.6 million in the previous corresponding quarter. 
 
Quarterly revenue, however, grew barely 2% to RM191.3 million from RM187.5 million a year earlier. The group attributed the improved earnings performance to higher contribution from its trading segment. 
 
For the nine months to Sept 30, net profit rose 13% to RM31.8 million from RM28.1 million in the same period a year earlier, while revenue contracted 13% to RM506 million from RM578.3 million. 

Supermax Corp Bhd today posted a record quarterly net profit of RM789.52 million, up almost 32 times from RM24.75 million a year ago, thanks to the continued booming demand for rubber gloves amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 
 
The glovemaker’s bumper earnings for its first quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 came as revenue surged 265.6% to RM1.35 billion, from RM369.94 million a year ago. 
 
The group attributed the stellar earnings growth to higher average selling prices for gloves and continuous robust gloves demand. 
 
Separately, Supermax also announced that it is planning for a dual listing on the Singapore Exchange to expand and diversify its shareholder base. 

The proposed listing down south will also enable the glove maker to pursue growth opportunities by providing additional channels for Supermax to raise funds if needed, said Supermax.  

However, Supermax noted that the proposed listing is still at an initial stage and the structure of the listing has not been finalised. 

Atrium Real Estate Investment Trust (Atrium REIT)’s net rental income jumped 73.98% to RM7.71 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, from RM4.43 million a year ago. 
 
Atrium REIT said its gross revenue for the quarter also surged 68.08% to RM8.27 million, from RM4.92 million. 
 
During the quarter under review, Atrium REIT paid an interim distribution of 2 sen per unit, amounting to RM4.09 million in respect of the realised income. 
 
For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2020, the group’s net rental income surged 72.7% to RM22.93 million, from RM13.28 million a year ago. Its gross revenue also rose 67.97% year-on-year to RM24.77 million, from RM14.75 million. 
 
RGT Bhd's net profit for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 soared 124.2% to RM4.26 million — a record high quarterly earnings — from RM1.21 million a year ago, on the back of a surge in demand for hygiene care products such as soaps and sanitiser dispensers. 
 
The hygiene care products manufacturer's quarterly revenue swelled 257.6% to RM41.76 million, from RM18.62 million in 1QFY20. Its earnings per share ballooned to 0.73 sen in 1QFY21 from 0.21 sen a year ago. 

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) has reported a net profit of RM2.64 million or 0.2 sen per share for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020, against a net loss of RM4.66 million or 0.3 sen per share a year earlier, mainly due to higher revenue from its heavy engineering segment. Quarterly revenue rose 45.26% to RM369.46 million, from RM254.35 million previously.  
 
The group, however, remained in the red for the cumulative nine-month period ended Sept 30, due mainly to the whopping RM300 million impairment loss in the second quarter. It reported a net loss of RM388.25 million for the period, compared with RM43.5 million in the previous corresponding period. Nine-month revenue grew 18.71% to RM871.21 million, from RM733.9 million previously.  
 
Minetech Resources Bhd has been awarded a contract valued at RM37.46 million to undertake a civil works project. 
 
The group said its wholly-owned subsidiary Techmile Resources Sdn Bhd accepted a letter of award from ARNN Technologies Sdn Bhd, appointing Techmile Resources as a contractor to undertake and complete the contract works to "design, build, supply, install, configure, test and accredit integrated data centres" on a call out basis option for works.