Thursday, 19 April 2012

OSK188 - 19 April 2012: DAILY RESEARCH REPORT


On The Platter
TASCO (FV RM2.48 – BUY) Company Update: All Still Intact
On Tuesday, we attended the briefing by TASCO as part of the Investor Relations Day co-organized by Malaysia Investor Relations Association and ZJ Advisory. The  briefing reaffirmed our view of TASCO as the top pick in our Logistics universe for its: (i) healthy growth in its sea and air freight business, (ii) expanding 3rd Party Logistics volume from its existing clients, and (iii) low PER, at 6x FY12 EPS vs the industry average of 7x. We keep our BUY call, but upgrade our FV from RM2.33 to RM2.48, pegging the stock at a slightly higher PER of 7x, which is in line with the industry average PER, from 6.5x previously.

AUTOMOTIVE (NEUTRAL) Sector Update: Mar’12 TIV: Sluggish Sales

TELECOMMUNICATION (NEUTRAL) Sector News Flash: All to Share Content from 1 May

CENSOF (FV RM0.57 – BUY) Corporate News Flash: Second Haul in a Week

PBBANK (FV RM14.40– NEUTRAL) 1QFY12 Results Review: Going at a Slower Pace

KASIKONBANK (FV THB188.9  – BUY) 1QFY12 Results Review:  Solid Numbers All Round

SIAM COMMERCIAL BANK (FV THB157.8  – NEUTRAL) 1QFY12 Results Review: Sizzling Growth

MAANSHAN IRON & STEEL (FV HKD2.37  – NEUTRAL) 1QFY12 Results Review: Puzzled by Widening Losses

Market Review
Battle for 1,600. The FBM KLCI rallied to a high of 1602.34 pts but could not sustain its move above the 1,600-pt psychological level. At the end of the day, the benchmark closed 2.67  pts higher at 1598.86.  Today’s news  headlines include: IMF revises up Malaysia’s GDP growth from 4.0% to 4.4% for 2012 and projects a 4.7% growth in 2013, Public Bank reports a RM940.8m 1Q net profit and Century Software receives two letter of awards from Malaysia’s Inland Revenue worth RM5.6m, Meanwhile, DRB-Hicom signs cooperation agreement with TATA Motors to develop, promote and market TATA military vehicles and Eversendai was appointed as subcontractor for  the  National Museum of Qatar package 2 worth RM134m. The Dow closed 83 pts lower  but stayed above the 13,000-pt level, while Europe also lost ground with the Dax losing 1.0% and the CAC 40 down by 1.6%. Some downward pressure could be expected for the local market as long as it fails to break above the 1,600 level.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
Public Bank registers record net profit
Public Bank posted another record net profit for its 1Q ended Mar 2012, buoyed by strong loan growth, higher deposits and non-interest income, and the application of new accounting policies The banking group’s net profit grew 6.4% to RM940.8m for the quarter in review, from RM884.1m for the corresponding period a year earlier. (Financial Daily) Please see accompanying report

Century Software receives IRB awards
Century Software SB has accepted two letters of award from the Internal Revenue Board to carry out accounting system projects worth RM5.6m The first project will commence from 1 Jan for three years and the second will commence from the date of acceptance of the letter of award for a period of two years and three months. (Financial Daily) Please see accompanying report

Study on new Johor-Singapore rail, road links
The Malaysian and Singaporean governments will appoint a foreign consultant by early next month to undertake a detailed study on the proposed Rapid Transit System (RTS) linking Johor Baru and the island republic. It is understood that the study, which will take six to 12 months to complete, will determine the best options for the RTS development and project cost. People familiar with the matter said several options were being considered by both governments. They said the governments were mulling whether to build an elevated rail and road link or underground tunnels between the two cities.  (BT)

DefTech, Tata seal defence cooperation
Defence Technologies SB (DefTech), a wholly-owned defence arm of DRB-Hicom, yesterday signed a cooperation agreement with India’s Tata Motors Ltd to develop, promote and market the latter’s military vehicles. The cooperation agreement will enable both DefTech and Tata to promote the high mobility 4x4 trucks with payloads ranging from 2.5 to five tonnes to the Malaysian government. (Malaysian Reserve)

Eversendai gets RM134m sub-contract for Qatar museum
Eversendai Corporation’s  subsidiary has secured a RM134m sub-contract for the second package of the National Museum of Qatar. It said on Wednesday the subsidiary, Eversendai Engineering Qatar W.L.L, was awarded the contract by the main contractor  Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. The scope of work includes design, fabrication and building of steel structures. (StarBiz)

First Solar plant shutdown sparks fears of bigger shakeup
US-based solar panel manufacturer First Solar Inc announced on Tuesday the shutdown of its manufacturing plant in Frankfurt, Germany. In addition, beginning May, the company plans to indefinitely shut down four more production lines at its plant in Kulim, Kedah. According to the company, this is to facilitate the restructuring of its operations due to deteriorating market conditions in Europe. The company also hopes to cut costs and explore new market opportunities. (Malaysian Reserve)

JCY likely to maintain strong earnings in Q2
JCY International’s second-quarter earnings could be as strong as its first-quarter figures. Southeast Asia's largest technology company is expected to release its second-quarter earnings by the middle of next month. "Our production output should be on target," said JCY finance director, James Wong, in an interview with Business Times recently. He added that the company has been doing well in the current quarter (second quarter), subject to external factors such as fluctuations in the currency markets. (BT)


ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
India: Consumer-price inflation accelerated to 9.47% in March
Indian consumer-price inflation accelerated in March as the cost of egg, vegetables, fish and meat products rose, the government said. The consumer-price index climbed 9.47% y-o-y, compared with an 8.83% advance in February, the central statistics office said in a statement yesterday. The Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates earlier this week for the first time since 2009 on slowing growth even as it said upside risks to inflation were limiting room for further easing. The country’s benchmark wholesale-price index rose 6.89% in March, slower than the 6.95% pace in February. (Bloomberg)

China: Home prices decline in more than half of cities
China’s home prices fell in a record 37 of 70 cities tracked by the government in March as officials pledged to keep restrictions on property purchases that have sapped buyer demand. The eastern city of Wenzhou led declines with a 9% slump in values from a year earlier, while Beijing and Shanghai recorded drops of 0.8%, according to data released by the statistics bureau yesterday. Yesterday’s release underscores forecasts for China’s economic growth to slow further this quarter after the rate reached the lowest level in almost three years in the three months through March. (Bloomberg)

UK: Unemployment unexpectedly falls as growth resumes
UK jobless claims rose less than economists forecast in March and a broader measure of unemployment fell for the first time for almost a year, signs that the labour market is stabilizing as the economy recovers. Joblessbenefit claims rose by 3,600 from February to 1.61m, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. Unemployment as measured by International Labour Organization methods fell to 8.3% in the quarter through February from a 16-year high of 8.4%. (Bloomberg)

US: Factories cool for first time in four months
Production at US factories dropped in March for the first time in four months as the industry cooled following the strongest surge in three decades.  Manufacturing, which makes up about 75% of industrial output, decreased 0.2% last month as appliance and furniture makers cut back, data from the Federal Reserve showed today in Washington. The decline followed a revised 3.4% gain from December through February that marked the biggest three-month jump since March 1984. (Bloomberg)

Source: OSK188

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