09/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | DEC 9, 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

Lower loan provisions lift bank profitability in Q3: RAM KUALA LUMPUR: RAM Rating Services Bhd (RAM Ratings) saw an uptick in profitability of eight selected local banking groups rated by the credit rating agency in the third quarter of 2025 (3Q 2025). It said the improvement was largely driven by reduced loan loss provisions and to a smaller extent, stronger non-interest income, despite a contraction in net interest margins (NIMs). Senior vice-president of financial institution ratings Wong Yin Ching said the banking sector’s loan growth gained some momentum in 3Q 2025, though the annualised nine-month 2025 growth of 4.5% remained below the 5.5% expansion for full-year 2024. “The average NIM of the eight banks narrowed by five basis points (bps) to 1.99% in 3Q 2025 (1Q 2025: 2.04%, 2Q 2025: 2.03%), reflecting the 25-bp overnight policy rate cut in July 2025 and ongoing deposit competition. “With the seasonal year-end deposit competition heating up, margins will continue to be weighed down in 4Q 2025,” she said in a statement yesterday. She said loan credit cost ratio trends among the banks in the cohort were mixed in 3Q 2025. “Although additional overlays were set aside in view of ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, write-backs and reclassification of loan provisions to the securities portfolio for a large corporate borrower more than offset the increase in provisions. “Overall, the average loan credit cost ratio of the eight banks improved to an annualised 10 bps in 3Q 2025 (1Q 2025: 9 bps; 2Q 2025: 21 bps),” she said. Meanwhile, she said gross impaired loan ratio inched down to 1.41% as at end-September 2025 (end-December 2024: 1.44 per cent) – a historical low.

Ringgit steady against US dollar ahead of Fed meeting THE ringgit was almost unchanged against the US dollar at the close yesterday as traders adopted a wait-and-see approach ahead of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting starting today. At 6 pm, the ringgit stayed almost unchanged at 4.1100/1145 versus the greenback compared to last Friday’s close of 4.1105/1140. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the local note hovered within a tight range of RM4.1057 to RM4.1160 during the day as traders and investors awaited the outcome of the FOMC meeting on Dec 10. He said traders and investors were expecting a 25 basis points cut, as the US central bank is expected to focus on promoting growth amid visible signs of a weaker growth outlook. The ringgit strengthened yesterday against major currencies. It climbed versus the British pound to 5.4671/4951 from 5.4859/4905 at last Friday’s close, strengthened against the euro to 4.7769/8013 from 4.7912/7953, and edged up vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.6426/6563 from 2.6536/6561. The local note traded mostly higher against Asean currencies. It gained versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1663/1827 from 3.1741/1773 at last Friday’s close and was marginally higher against the Philippine peso at 6.96/7.00 from 6.97/6.98. It was also higher vis-à-vis the Thai baht, at 12.8403/9133 from 12.9054/9221 previously, but was almost flat against the Indonesian rupiah, at 246.4/247.8 from 246.8/247.2 previously.

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.1850 2.7880 3.2250 3.0190 4.8680 2.4230 3.2250 5.5720 5.2270 3.4920 59.4400 66.8200 54.2000 4.7400 0.0263 2.7130 42.4000 1.5500 7.1900 115.7700 112.4100 25.5500 1.4200 45.8300 13.6800 115.0000 N/A

4.0360 2.6720 3.1210 2.9320 4.7070 2.3320 3.1210 5.3900 5.0000 3.2360 56.8800 61.4300 51.4600 4.4000 0.0232 2.5860 38.9700 1.3800 6.7600 109.9100 106.7100 23.0700 1.2400 41.7100 12.1200 108.9300 N/A

4.0260 2.6560 3.1130 2.9200 4.6870 2.3160 3.1130 5.3700 4.9850

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

108.7300 3.0360 61.2300 51.2600 4.2000 0.0182 2.5760 38.7700 1.1800 6.5600 109.7100 106.5100 22.8700 1.0400 41.5100 11.7200 N/A 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

Inari Amertron Bhd Neutral. Target price: RM2.01

Sports Toto Bhd Buy. Target price: RM1.55

Plantation Neutral

Dec 8, 2025: RM1.35

Dec 8, 2025: RM1.86

Source: Company data, RHB Research

Source: Bloomberg, RHB Research

Source: PublicInvest Research

THE recent analyst briefing presented a mixed outlook for Inari Amertron. Its radio-frequency (RF) segment-historically a resilient earnings contributor-has seen market share erosion as a key customer shifts toward premium filters. Although we anticipate a QoQ recovery in the coming quarter, FY26F is likely to remain challenging ahead of the next flagship smartphone cycle, which could be delayed to early 2027. In contrast to the robust US-based smartphone sales, the group experienced weaker sales from all the core segments during the quarter. RF, the largest sales contributor, suffered as customers shifted from mid- to low-band filters to high-end filters, resulting in an 8% decline in RF revenue. We suspect Taiwan-based ASE took up most of the assembly and packaging jobs for the high-end RF filters. This shift not only dragged the RF utilisation down to 65% (vs > 80% during the new smartphone ramp-up), it also dragged down the group’s margins. Still, we expect stronger RF sales in the next quarter, led by stronger smartphone sales. The post-Skyworks-Qorvo merger by early 2027 could potentially change Apple’s RF front-end module content as it will pave a stronger penetration for Broadcom, which dominates in the mid- and high-band module segment at Apple (estimated market share: 60%), given its leadership in the Film Bulk Acounstic Resonator (FBAR) filter technology. This could indirectly benefit Inari in the next flagship smartphone cycle, as the market players are only down to two, while it is in the midst of developing a more complex RF module for its key customer. Maintain Neutral call. TP revised to RM2.01. – PublicInvest Research, Dec 8

THE sector’s 3Q25 earnings were largely above expectations. We expect net profit to moderate QoQ in 4Q25, from lower CPO and PK prices, as well as lower QoQ output in Malaysia - albeit offset by higher QoQ output in Indonesia. In Malaysia, for companies under coverage, FFB output rose 12.5% QoQ or 0.7% YoY. Malaysia spot prices increased QoQ and YoY: +5% QoQ for CPO to RM4,280 per tonne and +2% QoQ to RM3,460 per tonne for PK; as well as +7% YoY for CPO and +31% for PK in 3Q25. Malaysian planters expect 4Q25F output to moderate QoQ - with the peak month being October - with most maintaining their mid-single-digit FFB growth forecasts for 2025. For Indonesia, we saw an average 5.3% QoQ or 6.2% YoY output growth in 3Q25 for the companies we cover, bringing 9M25 growth to 7.7% YoY. The strong YoY recovery in Indonesia was due to improvements following the impact of El Nino, which affected output in 9M24, while the QoQ growth stemmed from a mini output peak recorded in Indonesia in July. Going forward, most Indonesian players expect to see QoQ output growth in 4Q25 - this is anticipated to be the peak quarter for the year - and are keeping their mid- to high-single-digit growth for 2025F. Figures from the Indonesia Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) pointed to more aggressive growth in YTD-Sep 2025, of 11% YoY - it expects to end the year with 4-7% growth YoY. In Indonesia, the price of CPO - net of taxes - rose 5% QoQ or 0.7% YoY, while PK prices rose 4% QoQ or 34% YoY. Still NEUTRAL. Our Top Picks remain Johor Plantations Group, Sarawak Oil Palms, IOI Corp, London Sumatra Indonesia, SD Guthrie and First Resources. – RHB Research, Dec 8

WE believe Sports Toto’s latest game can attract punters that prefer higher chances of winning and create a novelty effect translated into positive uplift in sales per draw - albeit only modestly (if any). We view the success of SPTOTO’s long-term equity value remaining dependent on its ability to counter the persistent threat from illegal operators and successfully reverse the generational decline in interest for number forecast operator (NFO) games. We continue to like SPTOTO for its appealing dividend yields. SPTOTO launched a new variation of the 4D game - Toto 4D Fireball - last week, with an additional Fireball digit drawn alongside the main 4D draw results. The permutations are created by replacing one of the four digits in the player’s original number with the drawn Fireball number, increasing the number of winning combinations significantly. Notably, the first prize for Toto 4D Fireball is RM500, vs the RM2,500/RM3,500 for the traditional Toto 4D Big and Small bets. This new game variation ensures that while the winning chance is higher, the overall theoretical prize payout ratio should be maintained closer to the historical 60-64% average. While we do not discount the possibility of cannibalisation of the traditional 4D game and eventual loss of novelty effect, we believe the new game may attract punters who prefer a higher chance of winning. We expect the positive uplift in sales per draw to be conservative (if any), in line with the modest gains observed following SPTOTO’s Zodiac (RM18-19m in FY20) and Magnum’s Lifestyle (RM12-13m in FY23) games introductions. Keep BUY and RM1.55 TP. – RHB Research, Dec 8