In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Southern Steel says it’s unaware of any deal involving its major shareholder that requires disclosure after a Bloomberg report said Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan’s Hong Leong Group was looking to sell its stake in the company. Meanwhile, Sime Darby Plantation declares a special interim dividend of 5.7 sen per share for FY2023.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:04 Southern Steel said that it is not aware of any agreement that its major shareholder,
00:09 Hong Leong Group, a conglomerate helmed by billionaire Tan Sri Kwek Leng Chan,
00:13 had entered into that would need to be disclosed to Bursa Malaysia.
00:17 Thus, after checking with its board of directors, its major shareholder and all such other persons
00:22 reasonably familiar with the matter, the company said this in response to a query by Bursa Malaysia
00:28 in relation to a report on Wednesday about the group's plan to divest its majority stake in
00:32 the steel products manufacturer for as much as US$200 million, approximately RM957.2 million.
00:40 Hong Leong Manufacturing Group and HLMG Capital, both controlled by Kwek, are the top two major
00:47 shareholders of Southern Steel, collectively holding a 69.97% stake in the firm. Its shares
00:54 reached a record high of 74 cent after the news break. At today's close, the stock was down by
00:59 8.8% to 67.5 cent for a market capitalization of RM402.5 million.
01:06 Saimdabi Plantation has declared a special interim dividend of 5.7 cent per share for FY 2023.
01:18 This after it completed the disposal of two Indonesian firms and three parcels of freehold
01:23 land in Kapar Klang. According to the plantation group's announcement to Bursa Malaysia,
01:28 its board of directors approved the dividend yesterday, taking the year-to-date payout to
01:34 8.95 cent per share. In July, Saimdabi Plantation completed the disposal of Ladang Rumpon Subar
01:40 Abadi and Sajang Helang for RM530.25 million. The following month, the group completed the sale of
01:48 the three plots of land in Kapar for RM618 million. According to its latest earnings announcement,
01:54 its net profit was down 54.2% to RM380 million in the second quarter of FY 2023,
02:01 as revenue declined by just under 23% to RM4.3 billion. At the close, Saimdabi Plantation's
02:08 shares were flat at RM4.27, with a market value of RM29.53 billion.
02:14 Malakoff Corp is proposing to acquire a 49% stake in solid waste management company,
02:26 EIDAMAN, for RM133.20 million cash. EIDAMAN is jointly owned by Metacorp and Senviro.
02:34 Its subsidiary, Environment EIDAMAN, provides waste collection and disposal services for
02:39 municipal waste, under a 22-year concession granted by the government for the provision
02:45 of solid waste collection and public cleansing management services for Gedah and Perlis.
02:51 Malakoff's unit, Tuah Utama, is buying the stake from Metacorp. In a boar's filing,
02:55 Malakoff said the proposed acquisition presents an opportunity for the group to expand its waste
03:01 management and environmental services business and establish a stronger foothold in the rapidly
03:07 evolving industry landscape. It said the move is in line with the group's sustainability commitments
03:12 and environmental, social and governance strategy. Shares in Malakoff finished 0.83%
03:18 slower at 60 cent, giving it a market capitalization of RM3 billion.
03:23 Credit reporting agency, Cetos Digital, said its major subsidiary has obtained a five-year
03:35 extension of the second tax exemption, effective from November 9, 2021 until November 8, 2026.
03:42 In a filing with Brosam Lacey Today, Cetos Digital said Cetos Data Systems has received
03:48 approval from the Finance Ministry. This spells the reversal of approximately RM27.8 million
03:54 tax provision from November 2021 to September 30, 2023, subject to finalization of the tax
04:02 computation in the upcoming financial quarter. In a separate filing, Cetos also announced its
04:07 latest quarterly earnings. The quarter for 2023 net profit rose 7.1% to RM24.39 million,
04:15 while its top line increased by 25.7% to RM66.45 million. It declared a third single-tier interim
04:24 dividend of 0.64 cent per share. Amidst the recovery of the Malaysian and wider regional
04:29 economies, Cetos said it remains buoyant on its growth trajectory for 2023. Its shares ended the
04:36 day down 0.7% at RM1.44, for a market value of RM3.33 billion.
04:43 Financially distressed, Kisan reported its auditor has expressed doubts about the ability
04:54 of the Kandy and Sweets manufacturer to continue as a going concern in its FY2023 audited financial
05:01 statements. In its Bros filing, Kisan said that its external auditor, Messrs Kreston, John and
05:07 Gan, noted that the company incurred net losses of RM204.81 million at the group level and RM113.67
05:15 million at the company level during FY2023. Current liabilities exceed current assets by
05:22 RM128.49 million at the group level and RM4.98 million at the company level.
05:28 Earlier this year, Kisan submitted a regularisation plan to Bursa. It believes that once the
05:34 regularisation plan is approved and implemented, it will be able to generate sufficient cash flows
05:40 to meet obligations and continue its operations. There is also continuous financial support
05:46 provided by substantial shareholders to the group and the company. The stock was unchanged at 15
05:51 cent, valuing it at RM20.59 million.