12/02/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | FEB 12, 2026

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

M’sian palm oil exports set to hit up to 16m tonnes in 2026: Mielke KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s palm oil exports are projected to reach up to 16 million tonnes in 2026, according to an expert, driven by lower stock levels. ISTA Mielke GmbH (Oil World) executive director Thomas Mielke said the country’s export performance in the first month of the year has shown encouraging signs for the months ahead. “Malaysian palm oil production for the full year may stay slightly below 20 million tonnes,”he said during the“World Supply, Demand and Price Outlook of Palm and Lauric Oils, and Impacts from Other Vegetable Oils” paper session at the 37th Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference and Exhibition (POC) 2026 yesterday. Mielke noted that the year-on-year increase is ongoing for now in the January-March quarter, providing a boost to production in Malaysia during the first three to five months of this year. According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Malaysia’s palm oil exports stood at 16.61 million tonnes in 2025. Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose 11.44% in January 2026 to 1.48 million tonnes from 1.33 million tonnes in December 2025. In its January 2026 performance report, MPOB said crude palm oil (CPO) production fell 13.78%, or 252,095 tonnes, to 1.58 million tonnes from 1.83 million tonnes in the previous month. On a global front, Mielke said that global market share for palm oil is projected to ease over the next 10 years, as it will be able to satisfy only 15% to 20% of the world’s oil and fats consumption growth. He anticipates that global palm oil annual growth will contract by 1.3 million tonnes or less in 2030 from an average annual growth of 2.9 million tonnes recorded in 2020, if Indonesian production continues to shrink in 2027 and 2028. – Bernama

THE ringgit rose by 0.25% against the US dollar, strengthening for the third consecutive day yesterday, supported by encouraging domestic economic indicators. At 6pm, the local currency rose to 3.9110/9170 versus the greenback, improving from Tuesday’s close of 3.9220/9260. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that the construction sector expanded by 10.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025 (Q4’25), maintaining its double-digit growth pace for the eighth consecutive quarter. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained at 2.9% for the second consecutive month in December. Overall, he said the Malaysian economy remained resilient in Q4’25, adding that Malaysia’s monetary policy is likely to remain status quo this year, with the overnight policy rate (OPR) likely to stay unchanged at 2.75%. At the close, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It fell versus the Japanese yen to 2.5527/5566 from 2.5264/5292 at Tuesday’s close, but appreciated vis-à-vis the British pound to 5.3561/3643 from 5.3610/3664 on Tuesday and rose against the euro to 4.6611/6683 from 4.6731/6778 previously. The local note was mostly higher against its Asean peers, but fell against the Philippine peso, closing at 6.71/6.72 from 6.70/6.71 on Tuesday. The ringgit inched up against the Indonesian rupiah to 233.0/233.4 from 233.3/233.6 at Tuesday’s close, rose versus the Thai baht to 12.5808/6062 from 12.5866/6051 on Tuesday and was higher vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar at 3.0990/1040 from 3.0994/1028 previously. Ringgit extends gains, boosted by strong economic data

Exchange Rates

FOREIGN CURRENCY

SELLING TT/OD

BUYING TT

BUYING OD

1 US Dollar

3.9990 2.8370 3.1540 2.9410 4.7480 2.4190 3.1540 5.4440 5.2270 3.3210 58.0700 65.1600 51.5300 4.5000 0.0248 2.6070 43.0200 1.4800 6.9100 110.2100 107.3900 25.9100 1.3600 46.2700 13.3600 109.8100 N/A

3.8500 2.7200 3.0510 2.8560 4.5900 2.3270 3.0510 5.2640 4.9980 3.1000 55.5600 59.8900 48.9100 4.1700 0.0219 2.4850 39.5100 1.3200 6.5100 104.6200 101.9500 23.3900 1.1800 42.0900 11.8300 104.0000 N/A

3.8400 2.7040 3.0430 2.8440 4.5700 2.3110 3.0430 5.2440 4.9830

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

103.8000

2.9000

N/A

59.6900 48.7100 3.9700 0.0169 2.4750 39.3100 1.1200 6.3100 104.4200 101.7500 23.1900 0.9800 41.8900 11.4300 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

UUE Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM0.64

Plantation Neutral

Hartalega Holdings Bhd Neutral. Target price: RM0.85

Feb 11, 2026: RM0.925

Feb 11, 2026: RM0.46

Source: Bloomberg

Source: RHB, Company data

Source: Bloomberg

FOR Q4’25, we expect a disparity in the earnings trends of Malaysia- and Indonesia-centric planters. Malaysia-centric planters’ earnings should improve QoQ on strengthening output, offset by slightly lower ASPs. However, Indonesia-centric planters could see flattish-to-slightly lower QoQ earnings in Q4’25, as their lower ASPs could be offset by higher output. For 2025, both Malaysia- and Indonesia-centric planters should book positive YoY earnings growth, since ASPs as well as output increased in 2025. Overall, we expect nine companies to record largely in-line earnings for Q4’25, based on our estimated FFB production levels. Meanwhile, two companies (IOI and JPG) are likely to chalk numbers that exceed projections, while another two players – TSH Resources and LSIP – may chalk results that fall below estimates. For Indonesian planters with downstream operations, we expect margins to weaken QoQ from a slightly narrower tax differential between upstream and downstream products of US$70/tonne (-8% QoQ). YoY, we also expect margins to decrease as the tax differential narrowed by 28.7% from US$98 in Q4’24. As such, Malaysian downstream players’ margins may strengthen QoQ and YoY, given the reduced competition from Indonesia. As a result of lower output and higher exports, Malaysia’s Dec 2025 inventory levels dropped by 7.7% MoM to 2.815 million tonnes (+78% YoY), from 3.05 million tonnes in Dec 2025. With this, the Jan 2026 annualised stock/usage ratio fell to 14% (from 15.5% in Dec) – albeit still significantly above the 15-year historical average of 10%. – RHB Research, Feb 11

UUE Holdings, via Konnection Engineering has clinched two new contracts worth S$10.9 million (or RM33.7 million) each, lifting FY26 contract win to RM337 million – ahead of expectations. The two new contracts were awarded by SP PowerAssets and relate to the supply and installation of 400kV power cables, auxiliary cables, and accessories (NDC366). UUE’s scope includes installation of HDPE pipes using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method and provision of materials, tools, equipment, and labour. Outstanding orderbook now stands at RM576 million, with SP PowerAssets-related projects making up 30%. This marks UUE’s third large Singapore package (vs S$500k-1 million earlier jobs). Although these broader-scope contracts carry slightly lower margins than pure HDD work, Singapore projects still deliver an attractive 20-30% GPM, which are structurally higher than Malaysia’s due to tighter technical specifications, more complex urban environments, and stringent regulatory requirements. Including the latest wins, FY26 contract wins total RM337.3 million – exceeding our RM270 million assumption, which had reflected expectations of softer inflows in early CY26. Despite this, we maintain our forecasts as we believe contributions should begin only from FY27, given the upcoming festive downtime and potential permit-approval delays. That said, we continue to believe that UUE is well positioned to ride on Tenaga Nasional and SP PowerAssets’ capex upcycles, cementing its place as a HDD underground utilities play. UUE looks undervalued, trading at 10.4x 2-year forward P/E, vs its peers trading closer to market weighted 13.6x average – supporting our positive stance. BUY with RM0.64 TP. – RHB Research, Feb 11

Q3’26 core net profit of RM44.1 million lifted 9M’26 to RM68.5 million, exceeding both our and Street’s FY26F estimates at 122% and 113%. Key deviation: The sharper-than-expected margin expansion (+4.4ppts QoQ) driven by a 7% QoQ reduction in opex, particularly overhead expenses, which declined 25% QoQ (now 22% of total cost) – based on our calculations. Management attributed the gains to new automation deployments, upgraded lines with better optimised processes, and enhanced digitalisation that helped limit input wastage. The - 9.6% effective tax rate (ETR; a refund) also helped, supported by unabsorbed business losses and reinvestment allowances from Plant 9 (reinvestment allowances remain available). ASP fell 3.4% QoQ to US$20.60, pressured by competition and lower raw material costs. Negotiations with key buyers are ongoing for higher ASPs, though management cautions that volumes may soften in April-May due to price adjustments. Meanwhile, sales volumes rose 3.2% QoQ to 6.2 billion pieces per quarter, with sequential improvements expected. Plant 9’s commissioning is nearly complete (one line remaining), which will lift active capacity to 30 billion pieces by end FY26. The next capacity uplift will come from Plant 3’s idle 4.5 billion pieces capacity. Management also plans to halve Plant 9’s headcount relative to older factories and redeploy staff to Plant 3. Upside risks: Stronger USD/MYR, less competition for market share, higher glove ASPs, faster-than-expected capacity expansion, and a higher-than-expected utilisation rate. The reverse represents the downside risks. NEUTRAL with RM0.85 TP. – RHB Research, Feb 11