10/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | SEPT 10, 2025

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

Farm Fresh eyes profit growth through Asean expansion KUALA LUMPUR: Johor-based dairy product specialist Farm Fresh Bhd remains optimistic about its profit growth next year, supported by steady progress in both local and overseas projects. Group chief financial officer Mohd Khairul Mat Hassan said operations in Australia have begun to recover from earlier losses, while the Malaysian market continues to perform strongly. “Combined with Malaysia doing well, we get more chilled milk products being sold in the Philippines, then we should be able to make quite a good number there,”he told reporters on the sidelines of the Asean CFO Sustainability Leadership Summit yesterday. Farm Fresh began operations in the Philippines with a new processing facility in San Simon, Central Luzon in September 2024, catering to the Greater Manila market with chilled products, UHT products and growing-up milk powder. Meanwhile, he said the group is also exploring plans to set up a factory in Cambodia, positioning the country as a gateway to the Indochina market, which includes Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Mohd Khairul said Cambodia offers significant potential with its young population, rising GDP per capita and strong coffee culture, noting that international operations including Singapore, still contribute less than 5% of the group’s overall numbers. Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, he said Farm Fresh expects strong quarterly results, barring major global uncertainties. It is also benefiting from softer commodity prices, with lower corn and soybean meal costs easing pressure on margins. On mergers and acquisitions, Mohd Khairul said the group is open to opportunities locally and abroad but will only proceed if they align with its strategic objectives, such as entering a new market or strengthening specific product segments. – Bernama

Ringgit higher ahead of revision of US job figures

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

THE ringgit ended higher against the American dollar yesterday as the greenback extended its decline following the weak US jobs report on Friday and ahead of a revision in US job growth figures for the 12 months through March. At 6pm, the local note bounced to 4.2025/2080 from Monday’s close of 4.2165/2205. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the greenback continued its retreat in tandem with the decline in the US Dollar Index to 97.330 points. He said last Friday’s weak US labour market report has strengthened the conviction of an interest rate cut in the upcoming US Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week. “There is also an impression that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could be behind the curve in delivering timely monetary easing as the previous series of labour market data, such as the US nonfarm payrolls, saw sizeable downward revision. As such, the ringgit has breached the psychological level of RM4.20,” he told Bernama. At the close, the ringgit was lower against a basket of major currencies. It eased against the euro to 4.9451/9516 from 4.9430/9477, slipped versus the yen to 2.8711/8751 from 2.8536/8565, and was down vis-a-vis the pound to 5.7095/7170 from 5.6956/7011 on Monday. However, the local note was mostly higher against Asean currencies. It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2824/2870 from 3.2831/2865, fell against the baht to 13.2688/2925 from 13.2299/2491, gained vis-a-vis the rupiah to 254.9/255.4 from 258.5/258.8 and increased against the peso to 7.37/7.39 from 7.43/7.44 previously. Health Care Facilities & Services Overweight

1 US Dollar

4.2745 2.8340 3.3330 3.0930 5.0330 2.5500 3.3330 5.7990 5.4270 3.5820 60.3000 69.1100 55.3800 4.9400 0.0271 2.9110 43.9500 1.5300 7.6500 118.3100 115.0700 25.3300 1.4500 47.1000 14.0900 117.6400 N/A

4.1395 2.7200 3.2290 3.0080 4.8720 2.4560 3.2290 5.6150 5.1960 3.3360 57.7600 63.6100 52.6300 4.6300 0.0245 2.8070 40.4300 1.4300 7.2000 112.3100 109.2400 22.8800 1.3400 42.9100 12.5000 111.5500 N/A

4.1295 2.7040 3.2210 2.9960 4.8520 2.4400 3.2210 5.5950 5.1810

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

111.3500

3.1360

N/A

63.4100 52.4300 4.4300 0.0195 2.7970 40.2300 1.2300 7.0000 112.1100 109.0400 22.6800 1.1400 42.7100 12.1000 N/A

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

MClean Technologies Bhd Not Rated

Gamuda Bhd Buy. Target price: RM6.52

Sept 9, 2025: RM5.62

Sept 9, 2025: RM0.32

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Company data, RHB

MCLEAN has a long-standing 25 years partnership with Seagate, with HDD components and recycled packaging cleaning contributing 70% of FY25 revenue. Its plants in Singapore and Thailand are located near Seagate’s facilities, enabling cost and logistics efficiencies, with some Thai production billed to Singapore clients due to lower overheads. Global HDD demand is projected to grow at a 6.3% CAGR from 2025 to 2032 (Persistence Market Research), driven by enterprise, cloud and AI storage needs, while Seagate targets 30-40TB heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) drives by 2026. MClean stands to benefit from Seagate’s expansion and rising HDD storage demand. MClean is restructuring its Singapore operations to optimise costs and improve margins. The Singapore plant, which has four cleaning lines but only two running optimally, has seen a 40% workforce reduction given its higher overheads. Management plans to transfer the two unutilised lines and add new lines to Malaysia and Thailand plants, effectively expanding their capacity in FY26. This shift is strategic, as these countries offer cost competitiveness and higher margins. In its Thailand plant, it has seen more than double the workforce and will also soon add a drying process for component cleaning to further enhance profitability. DWZ Industries (DWZ) operates a surface treatment plant serving the HDD, oil & gas, and electronics industries. Having recently secured qualifications from two major HDD providers, we expect utilisation to ramp up, and profitability to improve meaningfully by 4Q25. We also see potential cross-transactions in HDD surface treatment from Dufu Technology Corp (which holds 25% stake in DWZ). – RHB Research, Sept 9

GAMUDA’S subsidiary DT Infrastructure (DTI), via a 50:50 JV with Samsung (also known as the TasVic Greenlink JV) has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Marinus Link project. This is a proposed undersea and underground electricity and data interconnector between North West Tasmania and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria. The project’s cables span 345km, i.e. 255km of undersea cables across the Bass Strait and 90km of underground cables in Gippsland, Victoria. With the Marinus Link, Tasmania can import low-cost renewable energy (RE), such as surplus solar, while reserving hydropower and storing the extra energy. The contract is currently at the stage of final negotiations with TasVic Greenlink. It covers the construction of converter stations in Heybridge and Hazelwood, as well as the installation of equipment and the land cable civil works spanning 90km across Gippsland. Construction works on Marinus Link Stage 1 (750MW) is expected to commence in CY26, with targeted completion by 2030 while contract awards could be expected as early as September. Stage 2 of the Marinus Link (750MW) may proceed, subject to market operator needs and the development of additional dispatchable capacity in Tasmania. Other RE-linked EPCC projects we can anticipate for GAM by end-CY25 is the Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro (OMPH) project in New South Wales. For this, GAM and Ferrovial entered into a JV, which is involved in early contractor works. We think that GAM is in a bright spot to leverage on Australia’s target to have 82% of RE in its electricity grids by 2030. BUY with RM6.52 TP. – RHB Research, Sept 9

WE believe the ongoing shift in the case mix towards a daycare format could be structurally favourable. Daycare procedures are typically priced at almost half that of inpatient cases, but higher patient turnover, lower running costs, and greater efficiency help offset the gap. More importantly, the shift frees up inpatient beds, which can then be prioritised for complex surgical cases rather than lower-yield medical cases. This reallocation supports sustained improvements in revenue intensity, even as overall inpatient growth moderates. KPJ remains our sector Top Pick. Despite the recent share price weakness, KPJ still trades at a 7.2% premium to IHH Healthcare’s (IHH) forward-rolling EV/EBITDA. This is justified by its superior margins and ROE, alongside improving contribution from hospitals under gestation, which together provide higher visibility on near-term earnings growth and margin expansion. KPJ’s ongoing efforts to upscale its hospitals into tertiary and quaternary care centres should also enable it to capture more complex procedures, thereby lifting revenue. While we recognise KPJ’s concentration risk, given that its revenue is predominantly derived from Malaysia, we also maintain our BUY call on IHH, as it offers a more diversified revenue base. We like IHH for its reputable regional footprint across key markets, expansion pipeline (+33% bed capacity by 2028), and the resilient demand for healthcare services. Meanwhile, we reiterate our BUY rating on Duopharma Biotech. – RHB Research, Sept 9