12/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | SEPT 12, 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

Proton introduces ‘Servis Ihsan Madani’ campaign PETALING JAYA: Proton has introduced the “Servis Ihsan Madani” service campaign, a nationwide initiative aimed at easing the cost of vehicle ownership while encouraging safer driving habits among Malaysians. Running from Sept 11 to Nov 11, the campaign is held in collaboration with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living under the Malaysia Madani programme. Through this campaign, owners of Proton PIES models namely Persona, Iriz, Exora and Saga can enjoy basic service packages at fixed promotional prices of RM145 for the Semi-Synthetic Package and RM198 for the Fully Synthetic Package – offering discounts of up to 30% from standard rates. In addition, customers will receive a free 40-point safety inspection at all authorised Proton service centres, covering essential components such as brakes, batteries, wipers and other critical checks designed to enhance vehicle reliability and driver confidence. Speaking on the campaign, Proton covering deputy CEO Ainol Azmil Abu Bakar said, “The Servis Ihsan Madani campaign is part of Proton’s broader commitment to making vehicle ownership more accessible and worry-free for Malaysians. By aligning our after-sales initiatives with the aspirations of the Malaysia Madani programme, we are not only improving affordability but also promoting safety and responsibility on the road. This campaign underscores Proton’s dedication to serving the needs of our customers while supporting the nation’s mobility goals.” Proton Edar after sales director Wan Hazran Wan Mustafa said, “Customers can enjoy a very affordable service package even compared to independent workshops. Moreover, we will carry out a free 40-point safety inspection for customers’peace of mind. Proton is always committed to deliver utmost customer satisfaction.”

Ringgit holds steady versus dollar ahead of US CPI report THE ringgit held steady against the American dollar and strengthened versus other major currencies at the close yesterday, as investors await the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. At 6pm, the local note was little changed at 4.2185/2240 from Wednesday’s close of 4.2185/2220. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd’s chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, noted that the US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.13% to 97.906 points ahead of the US CPI report. “Consensus estimates pegged the US August CPI at 2.9% from 2.7% (in July) while the core CPI is expected to be sustained at 3.1%. This would be critical data before the US Federal Open Market Committee members reconvene next week on Sept 16 and 17, with the futures market having put a (high) probability of a 25 basis points cut next week,” he told Bernama. SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes noted that a stronger-than-expected CPI reading could push yields higher and spark a temporary rebound in the US dollar. At the close, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies. It gained against the euro to 4.9293/9357 from 4.9416/9457, climbed up versus the yen to 2.8509/8548 from 2.8614/8639, and advanced vis-à-vis the pound to 5.6954/7028 from 5.7127/7174 on Wednesday. The local note was also mostly higher against Asean currencies. It inched up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2829/2874 from 3.2883/2912, rose against the baht to 13.2432/2663 from 13.2699/2872, and edged up against the peso to 7.37/7.39 from 7.38/7.39 previously. However, the ringgit eased marginally vis-à-vis the rupiah to 256.2/256.7 from 256.1/256.4.

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.2935 2.8490 3.3410 3.0870 5.0150 2.5540 3.3410 5.8000 5.4000

4.1485 2.7330 3.2360 3.0010 4.8530 2.4600 3.2360 5.6160 5.1700 3.3550 57.9700 63.3700 52.7800 4.6400 0.0244 2.8100 40.7100 1.4400 7.1700 112.7500 109.5400 22.9100 1.3400 43.0300 12.4800 111.8300 N/A

4.1385 2.7170 3.2280 2.9890 4.8330 2.4440 3.2280 5.5960 5.1550 3.1550 57.9700 63.1700 52.5800 4.4400 0.0194 2.8000 40.5100 1.2400 6.9700 112.5500 109.3400 22.7100 1.1400 42.8300 12.0800 111.6300 N/A

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

117.9600 3.5780 60.5400 68.8600 55.5500 4.9400 0.0269 2.9160 15.2000 44.2500 1.5400 7.6100 118.7700 115.3900 25.3700 1.4600 47.2400 14.0700

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

OCK Group Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.72

Texchem Resources Bhd Buy. Target price: RM1.37

Plantation Neutral

Sept 11, 2025: RM0.695

Sept 11, 2025: RM0.43

Source: Company data, RHB

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

SEVEN planters outperformed expectations, five chalked in-line earnings, while one came in below estimates. The upside surprises came from planters in Indonesia, or with sizeable Indonesian exposure – Astra Agro Lestari, Bumitama Agri, FR, Golden Agri, SDG, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and TSH Resources – owing to higher external FFB purchases, higher downstream margins and lower unit costs. The downside surprise came from SOP, which disappointed due to lower external purchases and higher unit costs. We make no changes to our CPO price assumptions of RM4,100 and RM4,000 per tonne for 2025 and 2026. Malaysian companies under our coverage saw FFB output rise 17.5% QoQ and 5% YoY. Malaysian planters expect output growth to lift in 2H, peaking in Sept-Oct 2025, maintaining mid-single digit growth forecasts for 2025. In Indonesia, we saw an average 12.9% QoQ and 10.4% YoY output growth in Q2’25 for the companies we cover, bringing 1H’25 output growth to 8.5% YoY. The strong YoY recovery in Indonesia was due to improvements following the impact of El Nino, which affected productivity in the first nine months of 2024, while the QoQ growth came from a mini output peak experienced in Indonesia in April-May. Going forward, Indonesian players expect to see growth moderating in 2H’25, coming from a high base achieved in Q4’24, and are maintaining their mid-to-high single-digit growth for 2025. For planters with Indonesian downstream operations, we saw margins weaken QoQ from a narrower tax differential between upstream and downstream products (-20% QoQ) and rise YoY due to a wider tax differential (+47% YoY). – RHB Research, Sept 11

TEX’S wholly owned subsidiary Wilpack Food Services has entered into an agreement to dispose a 34% stake in Sea Master Food to Yamae Global Co of Japan for RM14.9 million in cash. Proceeds are intended mainly for a RM10 million special dividend and RM4.6 million debt repayment, which will reduce TEX’s gearing marginally from 0.81x to 0.79x. Texchem Resources announced the disposal of a 34% stake in Sea Master Food for RM14.9 million, with proceeds earmarked for a special dividend and debt repayment. Sea Master Food acts as Texchem’s procurement and trading arm, sourcing various food ingredients (notably Sushi King, via Wilpack) and external hotel and restaurant customers. For FY24, Sea Master Food recorded a net profit of RM1.1 million and net assets of RM12.7 million. The disposal consideration implies an equity valuation of approximately RM43.9 million, equating to 3.4x FY24 price-to-book and 38x FY24 price-to-earnings. We are positive on the disposal as it unlocks the value for one of the group’s subsidiaries at attractive valuation multiples relative to both book value and earnings. The implied valuation for this disposal makes up 55% of the group’s current market capitalisation and it possesses other profit-making and growing subsidiaries/segments. Note that the proposed RM10 million special dividend also offers an attractive prospective yield of 13%. In addition, the partnership with Yamae Global – the international arm of Japan’s Yamae Group, a diversified food trading conglomerate – is expected to strengthen Sea Master Food’s procurement capabilities, enhance supply chain efficiency, and provide international market access, supporting the

OCK is a leading provider of power back-up solutions via 52%-owned EI Power Technologies (EIPT). The latter has carved an attractive niche as an EPCC contractor of mission critical power solutions for DCs. We gather that EIPT has executed >RM70 million in power back-up works for hyperscalers and colocation DCs over the past 18 months with strong outstanding orderbook and tenderbook of RM70 million and RM100 million as at end August. EIPT’s revenue and PAT grew at a FY22-24 CAGR of 13% and 76%, with GPM surging to 30% in FY24 (FY22: 16%). DC revenue (based on OCK’s disclosures) soared 77% sequentially to a record-high in 2Q25 on stronger DC revenue recognition, making up some 14% of group revenue (Q1’24: 8%). EI Power or EIP (EIPT’s listco) could be potentially valued at >RM300 million. Based on the abridged IPO details released, EIP will undertake a public issue of 129.5 million shares with an offer for sales of 70 million shares. Existing OCK shareholders can subscribe to 14m EIP shares via a restricted offer for sale. Post listing, the group would have an effective 37% stake in EIP (including a direct 6.6% stake) given the 28% public float. We estimate EIP could potentially fetch an equity value of RM250-334 million based on a target P/E of 15-20x on FY27F earnings, which translates into 9-12 sen per OCK share stake (based on its 37% stake). The IPO proceeds will be utilised for the setting up of a new head office and capex related to business expansion. BUY with RM0.72 TP. – RHB Research, Sept 11

longer-term expansion of the group’s food division. BUY with RM1.37 TP. – RHB Research, Sept 11