12/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | DEC 12, 2025

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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

Palm oil players ready to join carbon market: Minister KUALA LUMPUR: Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the palm oil sector is well-positioned to participate in the carbon market, having already embedded sustainability and circular-economy practices across its value chain. He said that although palm oil does not yet have a standalone carbon credit system, the government has already introduced measures to account for industry-wide emission reductions, including efforts to curb deforestation. “For the palm oil sector, I immediately instructed that there be no deforestation as part of our sustainability commitment, given that it is one of the country’s major economic contributors. We want to ensure that the palm oil we export is fully sustainable. “In other sectors, such as manufacturing, we can encourage greater adoption of solar energy as part of their overall energy mix. Over time, and by 2050, we hope (through these efforts) we can achieve success and aim for net-zero emissions,” he told the media after launching the second phase of the Malaysia-UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) fund yesterday. On circular economy efforts, the minister said, the palm oil sector has begun maximising resource efficiency by capturing and converting palm oil mill effluent into biogas, while used cooking oil is increasingly collected and processed as feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel. “Oil palm trunks from replanting programmes are now utilised for furniture production, and empty fruit bunches are being converted into pellets for green energy. “These are key circular economy initiatives within the plantation sector, and our next step is to scale them further into downstream industries,” he said. – Bernama

Ringgit surges to 4.10 against US dollar, highest in 4½ years THE ringgit bounced to the 4.10 level against the US dollar on yesterday’s close, hitting a new high in four years and six months after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates for the third time this year, which weighed on the greenback. At 6pm, the ringgit hopped to 4.1040/1105 versus the greenback compared with Wednesday’s close of 4.1155/1195. The local currency beat the previous high recorded on June 11, 2021, when it closed at 4.1070 against the greenback. The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) yesterday cut interest rates to between 3.5% and 3.75%, marking the third reduction this year from 4.25-4.5% in December last year. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the local currency continued to perform well against the US dollar after the FOMC meeting concluded on Wednesday. At the close, the ringgit trended lower against major currencies. It dipped versus the British pound to 5.4879/4966 from 5.4781/4835 at Wednesday’s close, weakened against the euro to 4.8025/8101 from 4.7884/7930, and edged down vis-à-vis the Japanese yen to 2.6333/6375 from 2.6240/6267. However, the local note traded higher against Asean currencies. It climbed up versus the Singapore dollar to 3.1711/1763 from 3.1748/1781 at Wednesday’s close and strengthened against the Indonesian rupiah to 246.1/246.6 from 246.5/246.9. The ringgit also inched up vis-à-vis the Thai baht to 12.9219/9505 from 12.9243/9422 and was flat against the Philippine peso at 6.95/6.97 from 6.95/6.96. – Bernama

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

4.1780 2.7940 3.2270 3.0210 4.8820 2.4330 3.2270 5.5860 5.2490 3.4880 59.3900 67.0100 54.1400 4.7400 0.0261 2.7000 42.4000 1.5400 7.1600 115.6700 112.2700 25.5200 1.4200 46.3800 13.7200 114.8100 N/A

4.0320 2.6810 3.1250 2.9360 4.7240 2.3430 3.1250 5.4080 5.0250 3.2350 56.8700 61.6500 51.4400 4.4100 0.0231 2.5760 39.0000 1.3700 6.7400 109.8100 106.5800 23.0400 1.2400 42.2300 12.1700 108.8300 N/A

4.0220 2.6650 3.1170 2.9240 4.7040 2.3270 3.1170 5.3880 5.0100

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

108.6300

3.0350

N/A

61.4500 51.2400 4.2100 0.0181 2.5660 38.8000 1.1700 6.5400 109.6100 106.3800 22.8400 1.0400 42.0300 11.7700 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

Gamuda Bhd Buy. Target price: RM7.00

Bermaz Auto Bhd Neutral. Target price: RM0.64

Plantation Neutral

Dec 11, 2025: RM4.91

Dec 11, 2025: RM0.70

Source: Bloomberg

Source: Company data, RHB

Source: Bloomberg

Q2’26 core profit jumped 85% QoQ (-61% YoY) to RM16m, bringing 1H’26 earnings to RM25 million (-77% YoY) – below expectations. The miss was mainly due to higher-than expected opex, and lower-than-expected volumes and associate contributions from Kia. BAUTO announced a Q2’26 DPS of 1.25 sen, bringing 1H’26 DPS to 2 sen (core payout ratio: 92%). Q2’26 revenue rose 13% QoQ (-14% YoY), driven by a strong rebound in Malaysia sales volume (+43% QoQ, -24% YoY) following the launch of Mazda CX-60 and Mazda 3, partly offset by weaker Philippines volume (-25% QoQ, -24% YoY). Cumulatively, 1H’26 revenue fell 30% YoY, while EBIT dropped by a larger 55% YoY as margins compressed to 6.1% (1H’25: 9.5%) due to softer product mix and lower volumes. On associates, losses were led by Kia Malaysia (RM7.8 million loss), while Inokom and Mazda Malaysia made turnarounds with RM0.4 million and RM0.9 million Q2’26 profits. While competition remains intense largely due to influx of Chinese marques, we expect a gradual volume recovery going forward. This is driven by: i) Mazda cutting prices up to RM35k in October, and ii) recognition of 500-1,000 Mazda 3 units by Q3’26. Additionally, we also expect Xpeng’s volumes to pick up slightly, ahead of the CBU tax rebate expiry in Dec 2025. This can already be seen in Oct 2025, with Xpeng posting a +18% MoM increase in volumes. We also highlight that Xpeng contributed more than 50% of BAUTO’s PBT in 1H’26, thanks to its healthy margin of 10%, led by the X9 model. NEUTRAL with RM0.64 TP. – RHB Research, Dec 11

Q1’26 construction PAT of RM155.2 million was up 10% YoY with net margin at 5.1% vs 4.6% in Q1’25. This was from a higher mix of domestic earnings, at 61% in Q1’26 vs 49% in Q1’25. Meanwhile, the property arm saw a 6% YoY drop in PAT for Q1’26 due to the absence of lumpy earnings from the West Hampstead project (UK) a year ago. Property sales reached RM846 million in Q1’26, accounting for 15% of the RM5.5 billion property sales target for FY26. Growth for the property arm is supported by the Vietnam market, with a remaining GDV of >RM2 billion. With its balance orderbook at RM37 billion at end October, and imputing a burn rate of RM1.3 billion/month (for Nov and Dec 2025), GAM should have an outstanding orderbook of RM34.4 billion by end CY25 if no new jobs are secured. Hence, it would need at least RM6 billion worth of new jobs to hit the lower end of its orderbook target of RM40 billion, which we think is achievable. Highly anticipated potential wins by end CY25 include; i) Stage 1 of Marinus Link (GAM’s share estimated at RM1 billion), ii) Sydney Metro West stations package (GAM’s share estimated at A$2-3 billion) and iii) the Carmody’s Hill Wind Farm (GAM’s share estimated to be at least RM1 billion). Conservatively assuming that GAM’s orderbook stands at RM40 billion at end CY25, with an annual burn rate of RM15 billion – the group needs to replenish RM25-30 billion worth of new jobs in CY26 to hit the RM50-55 billion orderbook level by end CY26. We think this is achievable, as GAM is pursuing tenders totalling up to RM50 billion (RM10 billion domestically, RM30 billion in Australia, and RM10 billion from both Singapore and Taiwan). BUY with RM7.00 TP. – RHB Research, Dec 11

NOV 2025 production slipped 5% MoM (+19% YoY), bringing YTD-Nov 2025 output growth to +3.4% YoY. The MoM fall came from all three regions – led by West Malaysia (-7%), Sarawak (-5%) and Sabah (-2% MoM). Meanwhile, the YoY rise mainly came from Sarawak (+29%), West Malaysia (+19%) and Sabah (+11% YoY). For Indonesia, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) showed CPO output rising by 11% in YTD-Sep 2025. Moving forward, for Malaysia, we expect production to continue moderating following the peak output in October and as we head towards the low output season. Nov 2025 exports fell 28% MoM (-19% YoY), bringing the YTD Nov 2025 export growth to -10% YoY. The MoM decrease was largely expected, given the demand normalisation post festive season in October, despite the larger discount between CPO and other oils. In Nov 2025, CPO traded at a discount of US$128 on average to soybean oil (SBO) and US$171/tonne to sunflower oil (SFO) (vs discounts of US$61/tonne to SBO and US$115/tonne to SFO in October). Going forward, while exports may see a gradual pick up in the run-up to the festive season in Dec 2025/Jan 2026 amid competitive CPO prices, we note that stock levels of PO at importing countries are not in dire need for replenishment currently. CPO is now trading at a larger discount to SBO at US$138/tonne, but slightly narrower discount of US$157/tonne to SFO. We believe buying activities in importing countries were somewhat muted in Nov 2025, although Malaysian Palm Oil Council stock levels for Nov 2025 are not available yet. – RHB Research, Dec 11