Two-fold jump in QES earnings
PETALING JAYA: QES Group Bhd’s net profit jumped two-fold to RM3.77mil for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (Q3’21) from RM1.63mil in Q3’20 on higher revenue and better margin. During the quarter in review, the company’s revenue rose 43.7% to RM51.67mil in Q3’21 from RM35.97mil previously on higher sales. QES managing director and president Chew Ne Weng (pic) said the semiconductor industry’s outlook continued to look favourable as demand for chips across all end segments remains robust. QES Group production“As such, we expect QES to benefit from this positive outlook. The board is cautiously optimistic in meeting its double-digit growth target as compared to 2020,” he said.Year-to-date,QES’ net profit more than doubled to RM14.57mil from RM6.69mil in the nine months to September 2020, while revenue grew 38.4% to RM158.59mil from RM114.63mil previously.
Source:The Star
November 18, 2021 23:57 UTC
Public-private cooperation fuels country's digitalisation efforts, says PM
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has called on the public and private sectors to work together and complement each other in intensifying efforts in the digitalisation of services and delivery to the people. Such collaboration, he said, will enable Malaysia to move into the digital economy with confidence and be well prepared. “Congratulations to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) for not only fueling the country's digitalisation agenda, but also indirectly improving delivery methods and approaches to the people,” he said in his speech at the official launch of the Minggu Saham Digital 2021 (MSD 2021) held virtually on Thursday. Hailing PNB's initiative to organize the event to increase the community's understanding of financial management, he said: “In my opinion, this is the best platform for Malaysians to learn tips on managing finances, saving and investing in a relaxed and comfortable environment with the family.”“My hope is that this effort will be an attraction for online visitors, especially the youth and teenagers within a harmonious environment of our beloved Keluarga Malaysia. ”I call on all Malaysians to work together to achieve the noble aspirations of PNB and the country, in developing a society that is both investment and digital literate by supporting MSD 2021,” he added.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 18, 2021 20:37 UTC
Covid-19: Late senior Health Ministry officer did not suffer any unusual side effects after booster shot, says Dr Noor Hisham
PETALING JAYA: The senior Health Ministry officer who died a week after receiving a Covid-19 booster shot did not suffer from any unusual side effects after vaccination, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic). Dr Noor Hisham said the sudden death of Dr Chai Koh Meow on Nov 17 was still under investigation and had urged the public not to make speculations on the case. "Dr Chai received his Covid-19 booster shot on Nov 9. Dr Noor Hisham said Dr Chai was well liked by his colleagues, the public as well as the traditional and complementary medicine community. "May his soul be showered with grace," said Dr Noor Hisham.
Source:The Star
November 18, 2021 15:43 UTC
Analysts see challenging year ahead for Supermax amid headwinds
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Analysts see a challenging year ahead for Supermax Corp Bhd amid US glove import ban, lower average selling price (ASP), and the impact of prosperity tax. “On the back of our dire outlook for the sector, we drastically scale back our volume and ASP assumptions for Supermax. While maintaining a "hold" call on Supermax, he revised down its TP to RM1.70 from RM2.75. KAF Research analyst Nabil Zainoodin, who maintained a "sell" call and target price of RM1 on Supermax, also expects weaker earnings ahead for the company. However, he revised Supermax earnings forecasts for FY22 upward by 14% as he assumed higher overall utilisation for FY22 as 1QFY22 utilisation rate was above his expectation.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 18, 2021 15:35 UTC
King presents SMG with cake for 50th anniversary
PETALING JAYA: Star Media Group’s (SMG) golden jubilee celebrations received a royal boost from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah himself when the King gifted an intricately decorated cake complete with golden fondant for the staff. On hand to receive the delectable confection at Menara Star here was SMG chairman Tan Sri Chor Chee Heung, chief content officer Esther Ng, managing editor Brian Martin and chief news editor Paul Gabriel. “His Majesty congratulates The Star’s staff and founders, past and present, whose efforts have enabled the reaching of this 50th anniversary milestone. The palace looks forward to many good years of partnership with all members of the media,” said Ahmad Fadil. The cake was later shared among staff of various departments.
Source:The Star
November 18, 2021 11:21 UTC
GDB Q3 profit at RM6.4mil
PETALING JAYA: GDB Holdings Bhd’s net profit fell 14.4% to RM6.4mil in the third quarter ended Sept 30, against RM7.48mil a year ago on the back of lower revenue. In the first nine months to Sept 30, GDB posted a 17.4% increase in net profit to RM20.1mil from RM17.1mil a year ago. “We will continue to make progress of our remaining ongoing projects, and are tendering for RM1.31bil worth of projects across commercial, hotel, residential, as well as mixed development segments. “These four ongoing projects are expected to provide earnings visibility until early FY2024,” it said. As at Sept 30, GDB’s total cash and cash equivalents stood at RM88.1mil.
Source:The Star
November 18, 2021 10:32 UTC
My Say: Medtech: Engineering our future well-being
Advances in medical technology have always been mankind’s best bet for the future, not only for its potential for rapid economic growth but, more importantly, to save lives and allow us to thrive. However, despite growing demand and potential, the medtech ecosystem in Malaysia’s “economics of medtech innovation” is somewhat lacklustre. For innovators in medtech, however, scale is more than a business decision — it is a moral decision. As medtech is inherently a matter of impact and benefit, commercialisation and scale are imperatives that interlock. Medical technology has never been more urgent, and it has never been more exciting, offering huge potential for Malaysia to be an innovative nation.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 18, 2021 03:32 UTC
Zafrul: Civil society plays an important role
KUALA LUMPUR: The government sees that Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are playing an important role during the Covid-19 recovery period, particularly through the implementation of Budget 2022 measures, to help empower the local communities that they serve. “CSOs and social enterprises are crucial stakeholders in our nation’s road to healing. Often called the “third sector”, Tengku Zafrul said civil society’s role has become even more pronounced since the beginning of the pandemic, the national news agency reported. As of August, Tengku Zafrul said the 110 projects have covered 140,000 beneficiaries, largely from vulnerable communities, and about 400 endangered animals for their care and upkeep. He said this would support social enterprises to be financially sustainable in their mission to create positive social or environmental impact.
Source:The Star
November 18, 2021 02:18 UTC
Goldman CEO says market greed now outpacing fear
Global markets have surged during the pandemic, fuelled by massive stimulus that has also stoked profits at banks such as Goldman. "Chances are interest rates will move up, and if interest rates move up that in itself will take some of the exuberance out of certain markets," Solomon said. "We have to recognise we are trying to drive very dramatic change," Solomon said, emphasising that the transition will take time. ChinaGoldman is at the forefront of a push by global banks to gain a bigger foothold as China's market opens, jostling to capture billions of dollars in potential profits. The finance industry is ratcheting up pressure on Hong Kong to ease quarantine rules and abandon its zero-Covid-19 policy.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 18, 2021 02:06 UTC
Google CEO sees company’s next trillion in value from search, AI
(Nov 17): While many other technology giants embrace the metaverse as the next frontier of growth, Sundar Pichai sees Google’s future in its oldest offering: Internet search. “There’s more need to organise information than ever before.”Earlier this month, Alphabet briefly crossed US$2 trillion (RM8.35 trillion) in market value, thanks to sales and profit growth during the Covid-19 pandemic. When asked where the next trillion would come from, Pichai pointed to his company’s core service. “Being able to adapt to all that and evolve search will continue to be the biggest opportunity,” the CEO said. Since taking over Google in 2015, Pichai has pushed the company deeper into cloud computing and artificial intelligence, while facing an increase in regulatory scrutiny.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 17, 2021 21:17 UTC
Sinovac, AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines given conditional approval for use as boosters
PETALING JAYA: The Drug Control Authority (DCA) has given conditional approval to the Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac and AstraZeneca as booster shots, says the Health Ministry. "The booster vaccine for AstraZeneca will be administered six months from when the second dose was given, whilst for CoronaVac, the booster dose will be administered three to six months after the second dose," Dr Noor Hisham added. The administration of the booster doses for both varieties of vaccine to targeted groups will be outlined by the Covid-19 Immunisation Booster Task Force (CITF-B) and announced from time to time. "This is to ensure the comparison of benefits over risk of the vaccines remain positive," said Dr Noor Hisham. He added the ministry was committed in upgrading the access of Covid-19 vaccine products in the country.
Source:The Star
November 17, 2021 15:51 UTC
Supermax 1Q net profit drops 19.12% to RM638.52mil on narrowing profit margins
KUALA LUMPUR: Supermax Corp Bhd posted a net profit of RM638.52mil in the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2021, a 19.12% drop from RM789.52mil in the previous corresponding quarter as profit margins slipped from a year ago. "The margin regression is due to the fall in average selling prices (ASPs) as competition has intensified significantly following a period of substantial capacity expansion across the industry as both existing and new players ramped up their production capacities," it said in a bourse filing.Earnings per share slipped to 24.6 sen from 30.58 sen in the first quarter of the previous financial year.Meanwhile, the group's revenue rose 7.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM1.46bil on continued strong demand for medical gloves and other personal protective equipment amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.There was also higher sales during the quarter due to additional capacity generated by Supermax's newest plant, which was commissioned during the year.On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, Supermax's revenue experienced a sharp 22.4% fall while Ebitda, pre-tax profit and profit after tax fell 24.0%, 24.4% and 34.4% respectively.It said this was owing to the temporary closure of its entire manufacturing operations during the enhanced movement control order in July 2021 as well a restriction on the number of workers allowed under the National Recovery Plan.Declining ASPs were also to blame for the lower q-o-q result due to intensifying competition along with rising glove supply. "At the height of the global surge in demand, many new glove players had jumped onto the bandwagon. Many of the existing players also ramped up their capacities in large scale especially from players who are public-listed companies based in China, Malaysia and in Thailand. "With the substantial increase in market supply, average selling prices have started declining with spot market prices currently much lower than contracted prices," it said.The roll out of Covid-19 vaccines globally is also expected to cause some moderation in terms of glove demand and consumption although the company expects this to be gradual and not a sharp drop due to the structural change in consumption.
Source:The Star
November 17, 2021 15:31 UTC
After the flood: Germany winegrowers struggle with a difficult harvest
It has been a difficult year, after the Ahr valley was hit by flash flooding in mid-July, killing 133 people and causing widespread destruction. It costs up to €1.5mil (RM7.15mil) to rebuild a vineyard, according to Knut Schubert, managing director of the Ahr Winegrowers' Association. Most winegrowers in the Ahr valley are not insured against natural hazards, Schubert says. Local vintners are now busy with the harvest in full swing in the area dubbed a red wine paradise. All the wet weather has not been good for the largest contiguous red wine region in Germany.
Source:The Star
November 17, 2021 12:58 UTC
End the standoff: Serba Dinamik should make EY review public to prove it has nothing to hide
Serba Dinamik Bhd’s standoff with market regulators and two major accounting firms over its delayed financial statements is becoming a joke. In the meantime, the shares of Serba Dinamik have plunged substantially, as institutional investors like Employee Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) showed how they felt. Instead, Serba Dinamik has also challenged the review done by EY Consulting and defied the directive of Bursa to make the findings public. It went one step further by also suing EY Consulting and Bursa to stop any disclosure of the review done by EY Consulting to anyone. We say this to Serba Dinamik: If the information contained in the EY Consulting review is not “material”, meaning it is not significant, why don’t you just release them to prove that you are right and that KPMG, EY Consulting and Bursa are wrong?
Source:The Edge Markets
November 17, 2021 09:27 UTC
Covid-19: Seven criteria to be met before transition to endemic phase, says Hisham
KUALA LUMPUR: The country can enter the endemic phase or reopen safely towards living with Covid-19 by fulfilling seven criteria, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. He added that the transition to the endemic phase would be done simultaneously across the country, based on international criteria, including those set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). He said the transition to the endemic phase was the government's next step as all the states except Sarawak and Kelantan were already in Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan (NRP). Meanwhile, he said the gradual reopening of the country's borders was also one of the important aspects in the transition to the endemic phase. The VTL for air travel allows individuals who have been fully-vaccinated to travel to selected countries without having to undergo quarantine.
Source:The Star
November 17, 2021 05:27 UTC