KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): Based on corporate announcements and news flow on Thursday, companies in focus on Friday (Oct 29) may include: Top Glove Corp Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, AirAsia Group Bhd, Southern Cable Group Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), IOI Corp Bhd, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Dominant Enterprise Bhd, Maxim Global Bhd, Icon Offshore Bhd, Ancom Bhd, Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust, Chin Teck Plantations Bhd and Yong Tai Bhd.

Top Glove Corp Bhd has again slashed the amount it plans to raise from its proposed Hong Kong listing, and now intends to raise about RM2.21 billion from its market debut there. The amount is about half the RM4.17 billion it previously aimed to raise in April this year, and down 71% from the initial RM7.7 billion it wanted to raise in February. This came after the world's largest glove maker said it had re-submitted the application for its initial public offering in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, after its listing application lapsed two months ago.

Yinson Holdings Bhd is said to be back in the race for Petrobras’ floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel contract in the Parque das Baleias field offshore Brazil. Petrobras has reversed its decision in August to rule out Yinson, the only bidder for the project, and the two parties are close to signing an agreement for the charter, Upstream Online quoted sources as saying.

Supermax Corp Bhd, whose subsidiaries have been accused by US authorities of being involved in forced labour last week, has declared a final dividend via a share distribution on the basis of one treasury share for every 30 existing shares held, in respect of the financial year ended June 30, 2021. Its stock will trade ex-dividend on Dec 17, while the entitlement date for the payout is Dec 20.

Sapura Energy Bhd’s former CEO Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin has raised his shareholding in the company with the purchase of 19.05 million shares or a 0.12% stake. The oil and gas outfit said the shares were acquired in the open market via Sharil’s investment vehicle Jurudata Sdn Bhd on Oct 22. The company did not reveal the transaction price but based on the day’s closing price of 10.5 sen, the share purchase would have cost him RM2 million. The last time Shahril purchased Sapura Energy shares was on March 3, 2020, when he bought one million shares at 17.5 sen per share.

AirAsia Group Bhd has partnered with more than 20 airlines as it builds up its Super App into an online travel agency that also sells flights by competitors, according to a Reuters report. The airlines which joined airasia Super App as partners included Air Canada, Air France, Bamboo Airways, flydubai, KLM, Qatar Airways and Philippine Airlines. AirAsia said the app has more than 700 airline partners and can reach over 3,000 destinations.

Cable and wire manufacturer Southern Cable Group Bhd is targeting to ride on higher demand for cables and wires, as the nation embarks on its infrastructure growth and 5G network expansion plans. Managing director Tung Eng Hai said currently the company has secured a rectifier system supply contract worth RM30.4 million from Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM). Under the contract, Southern Cable will supply, deliver, instal, test, and commission rectifier systems, including associated engineering services and accessories for TM's regional hubs in Peninsular and East Malaysia over 30 months from September this year.

IOI Corp Bhd said its unit IOI Investment (L) Bhd has decided to set the final acceptance amount at US$295.22 million (about RM1.23 billion) for the oil palm plantation group's US$600 million bond cash tender offer which expired at 4pm (London time) on Wednesday (Oct 27). IOI Corp said the expected settlement date for the offer is Nov 9, 2021.

Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd saw its net profit plunge 87.22% to RM48.84 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 from RM382.29 million in the preceding quarter on lower gross profit margin arising from higher feedstock costs. Revenue declined by 12.03% to RM2.24 billion from RM2.54 billion mainly due to lower average product selling price and demand following the rise of Covid-19 cases in the region. The group declared a special dividend of 18 sen per share, payable on Nov 26.

PT CIMB Niaga Tbk, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's 92.5% indirectly-held Indonesian unit, reported a net profit of IDR3.2 trillion for the first nine months of 2021 (9MFY21), climbing by 69% from IDR1.86 billion in the previous year, on the back of strong operating income and well-managed cost control. This translated into higher earnings per share of IDR126.38 for 9MFY21 against IDR74.79 in 9MFY20. CIMB Niaga president director Tigor M Siahaan noted that the company’s 9MFY21 financial performance is in a positive growth trajectory and has returned to pre-Covid-19 levels.

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 rose 23.43% to RM78.68 million from RM63.74 million a year ago, boosted by an increase in market share. Quarterly revenue, however, slipped a marginal 2.31% to RM613.02 million from RM627.52 million. The group declared a third interim dividend of 26 sen per share, amounting to RM74 million, to be paid out on Nov 25. This equates to a 94% payout on its 3Q earnings per share, and a dividend yield of 7%.

Dominant Enterprise Bhd has acquired a piece of freehold land in Johor from Senai Airport City Sdn Bhd for a purchase consideration of RM21.19 million. The land, measuring 10.185 acres, is to expand the group’s business in the construction of warehousing facilities for lease to cater to Senai Airport City’s multinational companies' operation in the Free Industrial Zone

Maxim Global Bhd, formerly known as Tadmax Resources Bhd, is buying a piece of leasehold land measuring 9,775 sq metres in Setapak for RM25.7 million. Maxim said the purchase will enable the group to further supplement its existing land bank at strategic locations with potential growth.It also said the land buy, its fifth since September 2019, is in line with its aim to further strengthen its foothold in the property development and construction activities, it said, and in generating long-term sustainable income.

Icon Offshore Bhd reported a 33-fold jump in third quarter net profit to RM14.37 million from RM426,000 a year earlier, primarily due to contribution from its drilling segment which commenced operations in April this year. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 increased 66.01% to RM87.28 million from RM52.58 million previously, helped by the drilling segment's contribution and higher revenue from the offshore support vessel segment.

Ancom Bhd’s net profit surged 195.42% to RM9.04 million for the first quarter ended Aug 31, 2021 from RM3.06 million a year earlier, on strong revenue contribution from both its agricultural and industrial chemicals segments. Quarterly revenue jumped 16.93% to RM404.73 million from RM346.12 million.

Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust's (REIT) net property income (NPI) for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 fell 22.02% to RM47.47 million against RM60.88 million in the same quarter last year on higher operating expenses and lower revenue. Meanwhile, its quarterly revenue also declined, by 4.55% to RM113.32 million from RM118.72 million a year ago, on lower revenue rent and advertising income from the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur mall. Elite Pavilion Mall's gross revenue was lower mainly due to loss of advertising and rental income from the various Movement Control Orders and National Recovery Plan.

Chin Teck Plantations Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Aug 31, 2021 jump 20.59% to RM16.54 million from RM13.71 million a year earlier, mainly due to significant improvement in the group’s revenue. Quarterly revenue increased 32.17% to RM51.75 million from RM39.15 million, due to significant increases in the average selling prices of fresh fruit bunches, crude palm oil and palm kennel even though the sales volume decreased.

Yong Tai Bhd has proposed to undertake the issuance of up to 180 million new redeemable convertible preference shares (RCPS) at an issue price of RM1 per RCPS and amendments to its constitution to facilitate the issuance of the shares. The company said it had entered into a conditional subscription agreement with RHB Trustees Bhd as trustee for Areca Strategic Income Fund 7.0 in relation to the proposed issuance of RCPS.