Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) (1155) posted a 35 per cent jump in its second-quarter net profit, boosted by a wider interest margin and a higher fee-based income.


The top lender also declared a net interim dividend of 8.25 sen per share.

Net earnings for the three months ended December 31 2009 came in at RM993.5 million, compared with RM734.6 million in the year before.

"Overall, the full-year performance for fiscal 2010 will be significantly higher than 2009," president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said in a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He said its return-on-equity will also be higher than the targeted 11 per cent this year, without being specific.


The bank's second-quarter profit alone is already higher than what it made in the previous year. The lender earned RM691.9 million in the financial year to June 2009, its lowest annual profit in a decade after writing down the value of its overseas banks.
For the six-month period, net profit surged 44 per cent to RM1.88 billion. This was helped by 18 per cent higher net interest income as loans grew 9.9 per cent during the period, while net interest margin widened to 2.77 per cent, from 2.7 per cent in the previous year.

The better lending margin was due to lower funding cost and cheaper customer deposits as a result of the low interest rate environment. The revival of capital market activities last year also contributed to Maybank's 78 per cent jump in fee-based income in the first six months.

Maybank is earning more from loans this year mainly because it has taken in the full six-month contribution from its 97.5 per cent-owned Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII). In the comparative period last year, BII's results were only included for the three months from October to December.

Banks in Indonesia generally enjoy faster loan growth and fatter margin compares to Malaysia as the competition is less intense in that market.

The higher earnings worked to cushion the 22 per cent rise in overhead costs for Maybank in the first half, also contributed mainly by BII.

Source: btimes

Read more...

The initial public offer (IPO) price for JCY International Bhd, a hard-disk drive (HDD) maker, appears to be expensive, analysts say, although they conceded that the technology industry has a bright future.


JCY, to be listed on the Main Market at the end of this month, has priced its IPO at an indicative RM2 per share for retail investors.

"We think it's fairly valued and offers minimum upside.

"However, we think it's understandable. Naturally, the owner would want the best price possible," OSK Research head Chris Eng said.


ECM Libra said the IPO is priced at a historical earnings multiple of 19.7 times while a smaller peer like Notion VTec trades at a historical multiple of 11.8 times.
This makes JCY very expensive, ECM Libra analyst Lim Tee Yang said in a report.

The IPO, Southeast Asia's largest technology offer since 2000, is an offer for sale by its sole shareholder YKY Investments Ltd.

YKY will sell 25.9 per cent or 530.2 million JCY shares. About 11 per cent of that block is for retail investors and the rest for institutions.

The final retail price will be the lower of RM2 or 95 per cent of the institutional price. The book-building exercise for the institutions ends today.

The company plans to adopt a progressive dividend policy of up to 50 per cent of its net profit.

"Based on annualised financial year 2010 figures, dividend yields may go as high as 4.2 per cent assuming the maximum 50 per cent payout.

"However, as JCY has highlighted it will adopt a progressive dividend policy, we conservatively assume that JCY may pay out 20 per cent of its financial year 2010 earnings as dividends, implying financial year 2010 dividend per share of 2.2 sen or dividend yields of 1.7 per cent," said Lim.

JCY, which posted turnover of RM1.76 billion for fiscal year 2009, makes HDD mechanical components for Western Digital and Seagate.

"I think the demand for HDDs, especially the 2.5-inch HDDs, will continue to grow. I believe JCY has good future," said Eng.

Source: btimes

Read more...

Singapore's authorities issued a casino licence to Malaysia's Genting group last Satuauthorities rday, allowing the company to add gaming to its ambitious development plans in the city-state.


Resorts World Sentosa, built by Genting on a former British military outpost at a cost of US$4.4 billion (US$1 = RM3.44), opened four premium hotels last month in expectation of the licence.

Singapore's casino regulator said the licence was issued on Saturday.

"The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore has issued a casino licence to Resorts World ... on February 6 2010," the regulator said on its website.
Resorts World Sentosa chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said the organisation was pleased to receive the licence.

"We are very happy to have received the casino licence," he said, and thanked the authority for working "tirelessly to set up the regulatory framework within a very aggressive timeline."

In addition to the casino, hotels and convention facilities, Genting will open a Universal Studios theme park by March at the complex on Sentosa island, which is already packed with leisure attractions.

A marine life park, maritime museum, spa and two more hotels are scheduled to launch after 2010.

Singapore gave the go-ahead for casino gambling in 2005, setting off a flurry of construction that went ahead despite last year's recession.

The government hopes the casinos will boost the country's tourism appeal.

The small island-republic relies mainly on man-made attractions to entice tourists.

Marina Bay Sands, another such casino resort, is scheduled to open in April following construction delays. It is being built by US-based Las Vegas Sands. - AFP

Source: btimes

Read more...