28/05/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | MAY 28, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

20

MARKETS/FROM THE BROKERS

SUNBIZ presents extracts of a selection of commentaries and research reports received from stockbrokers on counters that could be of interest to investors.

DISCLAIMER: The information is extracted from stockbrokers’ commentaries and research reports and do not represent the views or opinions of Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd. It is not a solicitation, recommendation or an offer to buy or sell the equities featured. Sun Media Corporation shall not be liable or responsible for any consequences resulting from usage of the information.

[ Compiled by SunBiz Team

Eramas to enhance CSR efforts via tie-up with W Foundation KUALA LUMPUR: Eramas Trustee Bhd signed a collaboration agreement (CA) with W Foundation, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to global environmental and philanthropic missions, to deepen philanthropic and corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in Malaysia and the Asean region. As part of the collaboration, W Foundation plans to establish a Kuala Lumpur office to facilitate and coordinate regional philanthropic and CSR activities, with support from Eramas. Eramas chairman Tun Zaki Azmi said: “This partnership is an opportunity to align financial trust solutions with global impact initiatives. We believe Mr Wook Lee’s leadership and W Foundation’s values are fully aligned with Eramas’s goal of becoming a socially conscious and forward-thinking trustee organisation.” W Foundation chairman Lee said: “This strategic alliance between W Foundation and Eramas Trustee represents a pivotal expansion of our global impact platform into Southeast Asia. By establishing our Kuala Lumpur office in partnership with a trusted Malaysian institution, we’re creating a powerful hub for environmental leadership and sustainable development initiatives throughout the Asean region. W Foundation brings its international network and experience from over 20 countries, including our work as an official UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) partner, to create meaningful local impact. I’m particularly honored to serve as Global Strategic Adviser to Eramas Trustee, where I look forward to fostering innovation at the intersection of philanthropy, sustainability, and financial governance..” The Exchange of Document for the CA was presided by Zaki and Lee during the Asean Leadership and Partnership Forum 2025 on May 25.

Ringgit eases against dollar as traders cash in gains THE ringgit ended lower against the US dollar yesterday as cautious traders took profit after recent gains amid continued uncertainty in the global economic outlook. At 6pm, the local note fell to 4.2345/2430 versus the US dollar from Monday’s close of 4.2155/2220. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said it appeared that traders might have realised their gains in the currency markets after the recent steep appreciation of emerging currencies. “Nonetheless, the immediate (global) macroeconomic picture is pretty much unchanged, where sentiments among businesses and consumers are still cautious,” he told Bernama, noting that other emerging market currencies also depreciated against the American dollar as the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose to 99.018 points. “The US Conference Board will be publishing their latest survey on the consumer confidence index for May, with the latest data in April seeing a persistent fall to 86 points, representing the fifth consecutive month of decline since December last year.” The ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies at the close. It rose against the Japanese yen to 2.9425/9486 from Monday’s close of 2.9506/9553, but fell vis-à-vis the euro to 4.8053/8150 from 4.7972/8046 and depreciated against the British pound to 5.7352/7467 from 5.7175/7263. The local note also traded lower against its Asean peers. It dropped against the Singapore dollar to 3.2894/2963 from 3.2826/2879 on Monday, and inched lower against the Thai baht to 12.9365/9676 from 12.9231/9466.

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.2760 2.7850 3.3290 3.1070 4.8770 2.5690 3.3290 5.8080 5.2480

4.1420 2.6730 3.2310 3.0240 4.7180 2.4750 3.2310 5.6220 5.0260

4.1320 2.6570 3.2230 3.0120 4.6980 2.4590 3.2230 5.6020 5.0110

1 Australian Dollar 1 Brunei Dollar 1 Canadian Dollar 1 New Zealand Dollar 1 Singapore Dollar 1 Sterling Pound 1 Swiss Franc 100 UAE Dirham 100 Bangladesh Taka 100 Chinese Renminbi 100 Danish Krone 100 Hongkong Dollar 100 Indian Rupee 100 Indonesian Rupiah 100 Japanese Yen 100 New Taiwan Dollar 100 Norwegian Krone 100 Pakistan Rupee 100 Philippine Peso 1 Euro

117.6900 3.5750 59.8400 67.0300 55.0900 5.1000 0.0272 3.0060 15.4000 43.4700 1.5400 7.8400 118.5300 115.1800 24.7900 1.4600 46.3300 13.7000

111.5800 3.3290 57.3100 61.6800 52.3400

111.3800 3.1290 57.3100 61.4800 52.1400

4.7900 0.0246 2.9090

4.5900 0.0196 2.8990

N/A

N/A

39.9800 1.4500 7.3800 112.5300 109.3400 22.3900 1.3500 42.2000 12.1500

39.7800 1.2500 7.1800 112.3300 109.1400 22.1900 1.1500 42.0000 11.7500

100 Qatar Riyal 100 Saudi Riyal

100 South Africa Rand 100 Sri Lanka Rupee 100 Swedish Krona

100 Thai Baht

Source: Malayan Banking Bhd/Bernama

Petronas Gas Bhd Neutral. Target price: RM18.80

Samaiden Group Bhd Buy. Target price: RM1.44

Malayan Banking Bhd Buy. Target price: RM10.90

May 27, 2025: RM1.04

May 27, 2025: RM18.24

May 27, 2025: RM9.85

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

9M’25 core earnings came in at RM13.1 million (+30.1% YoY), missing expectations – accounting for 57% and 61% of our and Street’s full-year forecasts. The 30.1% YoY earnings increase was driven by higher revenue of RM218.6 million (+28.6% YoY), supported by stronger work progress on ongoing projects. For the quarter, Samaiden posted a core net profit of RM5 million (+5.9% QoQ, +22.6% YoY), driven by a higher topline of RM89.2 million (+11.4% QoQ, +18.9% YoY), though margins were slightly impacted by utility scale project execution. While Q3’25 showed better performance from its CGPP contracts, the contribution remains modest, with overall project progress reaching just 30%. Hence, we anticipate a stronger showing in Q4’25. Orderbook declined to RM441.8 million (-14% QoQ), comprising 53.5% solar utility-scale, 20.7% solar rooftop, and the remainder consisting of other RE. To note, the figure still includes the cancelled biomass project and does not yet reflect the full value of Large Scale Solar 5 (LSS5) contracts, as it is based on March 31. This week, Samaiden announced its third LSS5 EPCC contract valued at RM100.7 million, from GVU Fajar Timur. The contract is for the EPCC of a 27.6MWac solar power plant in Pasir Mas, Kelantan and is slated for completion by July 24, 2027. Including this award, the group has secured a total of 67.58MWac (worth RM254.3 million) in EPCC contracts under LSS5. With LSS5 contract awards now underway, we expect more positive news flow from the group in the near term – Samaiden targets at least 10% share of the available 2GW capacity. Further growth opportunities arise from LSS5+, LSS6, and Community RE Aggregation Mechanism or CREAM initiatives. BUY with RM1.44 TP. – RHB Research, May 27

Q1’25 core earnings of RM466m (+7% QoQ; -1% YoY) are within expectations, at 25% and 24% of our and Street full-year estimates. A first interim DPS of 16 sen was declared (Q1’24: 16 sen). Q1’25 core earnings increased by 7% QoQ, on lower opex resulted from lower maintenance despite lower revenue (-1%; lower gas transportation and regasification revenue following downward tariff adjustment). YoY, Q1’25 core earnings fell marginally by 1% on higher operating costs led by higher maintenance activities amidst revenue due to the above-mentioned reasons. Management guided that repair and restoration works arising from the pipeline fire incident in Putra Heights is estimated at RM170 million, whereby a substantial portion will be capitalised and partial cost recovery expected from insurance claim. Revenue loss attributable to the temporary service interruption is projected to be minimal at RM20 million and the total profit impact from both asset restoration and revenue loss is projected to be RM60 million. PTG recently announced to partner two Sabah state government-linked companies to jointly develop a 120MW power plant in Labuan. This is subsequent to the ongoing development of the two jointly-owned power plants in Sabah – 52MW Sipitang and second 100MW Kimanis – which are scheduled to be commercialised by end-2026 and March 2026. We do not discount the possibility of PTG participating in the new gas-fired power generation plant tender by the Energy Commission. At a dividend payout ratio assumption of 85% (vs the average 5 year payout ratio of 90%), the group still offers decent dividend yields of 4.4-4.5% for FY25-27. NEUTRAL with RM18.80 TP. – RHB Research, May 27

Source: Bloomberg

Q1’25 results broadly met expectations with net profit of RM2.6 billion (+4% YoY; +2% QoQ) at 25% of our and consensus FY25F PATMI. Q1’25 reported ROE of 11.3% is tracking its Ż 11.3% FY25F target while group and bank CET-1 ratios were solid at 14.9% (Q4’24: 14.9%) and 14% (Q4’24: 13.7%) respectively. YoY PATMI growth was driven by lower credit cost of 23bps (Q1’24: 29bps), reflecting pre-emptive provisions made in Q1’24. The drop was also notwithstanding RM100 million in management overlays Maybank booked in, raising total overlays to RM1.8 billion. Operating income growth was a more muted 2% YoY (+4% QoQ) on a stronger NII (+2% YoY; -2% QoQ) while non-II was flat YoY (+16% QoQ) due to a high base in Q1’24. Opex was well controlled (+2% YoY and QoQ), which led to a stable CIR of 48.5% (Q4’24: 49.7%). Group loans expanded by an annualised pace of 2%. While domestic annualised loans growth was 6%, the global banking segment in Indonesia was down 14% QoQ as Maybank shrunk its SOE loan book there due to thin margins. Despite the uncertainties ahead, which could see loans growth come in below the 5-6% target, management appeared comfortable with its other targets and guidance and kept them unchanged for now. Loan exposure to exporters was RM7.3 billion (or 1% of gross loans) from over 200 names, of which, borrowers with >20% of revenue from the US stood at an even smaller RM1 billion. There has not been any deterioration in asset quality and it is comfortable with its ź 30bps FY25 credit cost guidance. BUY with RM10.90 TP. – RHB Research, May 27