30/05/2025

FRIDAY | MAY 30, 2025

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14

BIZ & FINANCE

Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

Tripartite pact to facilitate ETF listings on M’sian market

Impressive Q1 performance by Kinergy Advancement

PETALING JAYA: Kinergy Advance ment Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025 (Q1’25) increased by 25.8% year-on-year to RM6.25 million compared to RM4.97 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue surged 63.1% year-on year to RM68.57 million, driven by the performance of its sustainable energy solutions (SES) segment. Earnings per share improved to 0.30 sen from 0.25 sen previously. The SES segment delivered impressive growth, recording revenue of RM34.28 million, a 72.6% increase compared to RM19.86 million achieved in the corresponding quarter last year. SES’s operational execution resulted in an operating profit of RM8.46 million, up from RM5.94 million, translating into an operating margin of 24.7%. The group’s engineering segment continued to provide steady contri bution, recording revenue of RM34.14 million and operating profit of RM1.33 million, ensuring balanced growth and operational diversification. Reflecting strong financial dis cipline and operational efficiency, Kinergy Advancement generated an operating cash flow of RM8.13 million during the quarter, highlighting its strong cash-generative capabilities and prudent management. The company has a robust order book of RM730 million, comprising RM636 million in SES projects and RM94 million in engineering projects. Additionally, its tender pipeline remains strong at about RM3.42 billion, ensuring significant revenue visibility and continued future growth. Kinergy Advancement’s strategic growth momentum was further enhanced by securing its largest-ever engineering, procurement, cons truction, and commissioning contract valued at RM646 million. This major contract represents a significant mile stone, clearly marking the company’s shift from a traditional engineering focused entity towards becoming a comprehensive independent power producer. The Sandakan Sibuga Plant 1 is commissioning a new manufacturing line, expected to begin operations in the second half of 2025, which will add 178 million litres of capacity and increase total annual production to 626 million litres, representing a 40% increase. Life Water continues to pursue a two-pronged strategy of organic expansion and strategic diversi fication. With the Twinine acquisition, Life Water is now well positioned to capture synergies across multiple FMCG segments, while reinforcing its core strength in beverage manu facturing. As Sabah’s consumer landscape continues to evolve, Life Water remains optimistic about its growth trajectory in the current financial year and beyond.

o Bursa Malaysia, Fullgoal HK and CGS International forge collaboration

PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Fullgoal Asset Management (HK) Ltd and CGS International Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd have signed a memorandum of under standing (MoU) to promote inter national financial integration and enhance the vibrancy of Malaysia’s capital market. The tripartite collaboration aims to facilitate the listing of foreign underlying ETFs (exchange-traded funds) on Bursa Malaysia, pro viding Malaysian investors access to a broader range of investment options while offering exposure to global markets. The MoU was signed by Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Fad’l Mohamed, Fullgoal Fund CEO and chairman of Fullgoal HK Lixin Zhang, and CGS International deputy CEO Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki at the Asean Business Forum 2025 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The signing was witnessed by Malaysian Investment Develop ment Authority (Mida) CEO Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid on behalf of Invest ment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz. Other digni taries present at the signing included China Galaxy Securities chairman Wang Sheng, Securities Commission Malaysia executive chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi and Asean-Business Ad visory Council Malaysia chair Tan Sri Nazir Razak. Bursa Malaysia said it conti

Front row, from left: Zhang, Fad’l Mohamed and Khairi Shahrin Arief. Back row, from left, are Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim and Mohammad Faiz.

tating the cross-listing of ETFs on Bursa Malaysia with Fullgoal HK. “In the past two years, we have collaborated with Fullgoal HK on two ETFs in Singapore, which offer the local investors unique opportunities to invest in markets and sectors that are hard to access. We are excited to bring more ETFs to Malaysian investors, fulfilling our aim of making investing more accessible to the masses,” she added. The MoU reflects the joint commitment by Bursa Malaysia, Fullgoal HK and CGS Inter national to strengthen collabora tion to promote capital market connectivity between China and Malaysia, enrich cross-border product offerings and enhance the cross-border development capabilities of the asset manage ment industry. carbonated and fruit drinks. The drinking water segment remained the largest contributor, accounting for 82.6% of total revenue. Life Water posted a gross profit of RM19.52 million, with a margin of 45.3%, while profit before tax stood at RM8.11 million, reflecting a margin of 18.8%. While margins moderated quarter-on-quarter due to the implementation of the minimum wage policy and temporary opera tional inefficiencies from expansion initiatives, the group remains con fident in its long-term earnings resilience. For the nine months, Life Water reported revenue of RM128.42 million and a net profit of RM20.97 million, translating to a 16.3% margin. The group’s new Keningau plant commenced operations in early 2025, adding 59 million litres of annual production capacity and bringing

Malaysia with global financial markets,” Fad’l Mohamed said. Currently, Bursa Malaysia offers investment opportunities via 17 ETFs managed by six issuers, with total assets under management of about RM2.4 billion. Fullgoal Fund and Fullgoal HK emphasised the strong maritime ties between China and Malaysia, rooted in a long-standing friend ship. With the collaborative efforts of both governments to advance the Belt and Road Initiative, financial and economic cooperation has significantly deepened, they noted. CGS International group CEO Carol Fong said the company looks forward to bringing its investment management, re search, and distribution capabi lities to the partnership, facili

“This acquisition is a natural extension of our FMCG portfolio. With overlapping distribution touchpoints and similar consumer demographics, we see significant cross-selling opportunities and operating syner gies. More importantly, our network gives us the ability to broaden Twinine’s reach across Sabah, especially into the east coast region, further strengthening its market presence,“ Life Water managing director Liaw Hen Kong said in a statement. Growth plans include introducing two production shifts at Twinine’s facility to boost output in line with demand, as well as exploring a new manufacturing site at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park to support long-term expansion in East Malaysia. Twinine’s founder will remain with nues to strengthen the local ETF ecosystem through a series of structured and strategic ini tiatives. These initiatives include those focused on ecosystem development and stakeholder engagement, as well as the ETF Challenge, which aims to raise awareness and educate retail investors. “This collaboration marks a pivotal step in expanding Malay sia’s ETF landscape, offering our investors greater diversity and access to global opportunities. Together with Fullgoal HK and CGS International, we are com mitted to deepening market sophistication and driving sus tainable growth in our capital markets. “This initiative reinforces Bursa Malaysia’s position as an investment gateway, bridging

Life Water expands beyond beverages with acquisition of Twinine PETALING JAYA: Life Water Bhd, a Sabah-based beverage manufacturer, has signed an agreement to acquire 100% equity interest in Twinine Sdn Bhd, a well-established sauce and condi-ment manufacturer, for RM10.5 million. and distribution network, thereby accelerating market penetration for Twinine’s products. total drinking water capacity to 448 million litres per annum.

The acquisition marks Life Water’s first major diversification beyond beverages, strengthening its footprint in the broader fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Founded over 35 years ago, Twinine has established a strong presence on the west coast of Sabah, part of Sarawak and in Brunei, with a consistent financial track record. The company recorded revenues of RM8.6 million in both FY22 and FY23, as well as an unaudited revenue of RM8.5 million in FY24, alongside a three-year average net profit of RM910,000. The strategic move enables Life Water to leverage its existing logistics

the company for a two-year transition period to ensure continuity and provide guidance on growth stra tegies, including the development of the new facility. The acquisition is expected to contribute positively to Life Water’s earnings. The acquisition coincides with the release of Life Water’s third-quarter ended March 31, 2025 (Q3’25), in which it reported a net profit of RM6.48 million. The group recorded RM43.12 million in revenue, a 0.95% increase from the preceding quarter, supported by seasonal demand for