Stocks to watch: Cepatwawasan, Maybank, Catcha, plantations

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks with recent corporate developments which could see trading interest on Thursday, Aug 4 include CEPATWAWASAN GROUP BHD, MALAYAN BANKING BHD , Catcha Media Bhd, PLANTATION s and Freight Management Holdings Bhd (FMH).

Cepatwawasan is upbeat on its outlook after its net profit jumped 390% to RM13.55 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 from RM2.77 million a year ago, boosted by higher crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel prices.

Revenue increased by 59.5% to RM79.32 million from RM49.73 million due to higher CPO and palm kernel prices by 32% and 68% respectively and a 35% increase in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.

Cepatwawasan said the board was confident that the group’s prospects will remain bright in view that CPO and PK prices has recently stabilised around RM3,100 and RM1,900 per tonne respectively.

Malayan Banking Bhd, which called off merger talks with RHB CAPITAL BHD in June, is still keeping its options open, for a possible acquisition, if the price is right.

Its president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said RHB was a very good bank and the combination between Maybank and RHB could create a significant amount of synergy, resulting in a significant holder value creation.

Catcha Media Bhd, whose share price rallied following the emergence of GENTING BHD ’s Datuk Justin Leong Ming Loong as a substantial shareholder with a 5.01% stake, could see some profit taking.

Leong, is the head of strategic investments and corporate affairs of Genting Group. He is a grandson of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the founder of the Genting Group.

"Right now, this investment in Catcha Media is purely a personal one. The internet sector is of great personal interest to me,” he said.

Catcha’s share price bucked the weaker broader market, closing 16 sen higher at 72.5 sen. It was actively traded with 13.58 million shares done at prices ranging from 57.5 sen to 84 sen.

Plantations could see trading interest after CPO futures ended higher on Wednesday, boosted by early gains in agricultural markets and expectations of a spike in demand during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

However, the gains were capped by worries about the global economy.

The benchmark October contract closed up RM23 or 0.7% at RM3,136 a tonne. It earlier hit a peak of RM3,144, its highest since July 22.

Reuters quoted a Kuala Lumpur-based trader as saying, "We are also moving into fasting season, therefore production is going to go down and demand much higher."

Another trader was quoted by Reuters that he did not see the CPO futures breaking the RM3,150 levels yet, despite yesterday's weather scares in the U.S. sending the grain and agriculture complex higher.

Freight Management Holdings Bhd (FMH), an international multimodal freight and logistics services provider, is aiming to get 15% in revenue contribution annually from its third-party logistics and warehousing division.

The segment currently contributed between 12% and 15% of the company's total revenue, while its core freight services businesses accounted for 60%.

PUBLIC BANK BHD has issued RM3 billion of debt notes under the subordinated medium-term notes (MTN) programme.

The bank said the RM3 billion was the fifth tranche of the RM5 billion nominal value of subordinated MTN programme. The notes are due on Aug 3, 2022 and callable on Aug 3, 2017.