Kemasukan pelancong ke Sarawak meningkat 7.2 peratus

Borneo Post on March 11, 2013, Monday

KUCHING: Kemasukan pelancong ke Sarawak men­ingkat sebanyak 7.2 peratus tahun lepas berbanding ta­hun sebelumnya kata Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Lembaga Pelancongan Sarawak (STB) Datuk Rashid Khan.Beliau memberitahu, jum­lah kemasukan pelancong ke Sarawak mencatat peningkatan yang amat memberangsang­kan iaitu sebanyak 4.07 juta pada 2012 berbanding tahun sebelumnya.

“Untuk kemasukan pelan­cong asing sahaja ia meningkat 12.4 peratus daripada jumlah keseluruhan pelancong tahun lepas hasil promosi, program dan aktiviti yang kita adakan di negeri ini,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap pada Program Apresiasi Media Berbasikal di Sama Jaya Forest Park, Tabuan di sini semalam.

“Malah, kita turut memu­lakan tahun ini dengan baik. Dalam laporan awal tahun ini kita telah menerima anugerah perak pada Anugerah HSMAI Adrian 2012 di New York,” tambahnya.

Pada masa yang sama Rash­id memberitahu, Festival Muzik Hutan Hujan Sedunia (RWMF) turut mendapat anugerah untuk kali keempat dalam festival antarabangsa sebagai antara 25 yang terbaik pada 2013.

“Ini adalah hasil sokongan para media yang bersama-sama dengan STB mempromosikan keunikan Sarawak,” katanya sambil menambah bahawa STB akan meneruskan ker­jasama dengan media di negeri ini.

Sementara itu, Pengarah Urusan Biro Konvensyen Sarawak (SCB) Mike Can­non mempelawa para media di Sarawak untuk turut serta dalam anugerah MICE pada tahun ini.

“Antara hadiah yang bakal dimenangi adalah wang tunai RM12,000,” katanya.

Hadir sama pada majlis itu, Pengarah Operasi Pusat Konvensyen Borneo Kuching (BCCK) Eric Van Piggelen, Pengurus Wilayah Sarawak Forestry Corporation Semilan Ripot dan tetamu kehormat lain.

Dalam program itu pihak media diajak bersama-sama mengayuh basikal di sekitar kawasan Pending untuk meng­galakkan atau mempromosikan kawasan itu.

Selain itu, ia bagi merapatkan lagi hubungan STB dan agensi-agensi berkaitan dengan pihak media yang ada di negeri ini.

D-Valley Mall a shopping haven once completed

Posted on March 3, 2013, Sunday

NEW INVESTMENT: Donald (left) talks to a potential buyer during the soft launch of the D-Valley Mall, Apartment and Hotels at the realty office showroom.

KUCHING:  D-Valley Mall, Apartment and Hotels, which is strategically located at Jalan Tun Razak here, will become a true shopping haven upon its completion in 2016.

Situated at the prime city centre area in the midst of rapid commercial and residential development surrounding its catchment area, the modern architecture mall complimented with a seven-storey service apartment and hotel, will be looking to attract medium and above market to suit consumers various financial strength.

Encompassing almost six acres, D-Valley mall offers four designated retail floors occupying approximately a total built-up area of 900,000 square feet (sq ft), about 460,000 sq ft of floor area and a total of 400,000 sq ft area to let out.

The ground floor will accommodate either a hypermarket or supermarket, complimented with various renowned food and beverage outlets facing the main entrance. The food court will be situated on the second floor for the convenience of shoppers. A children amusement park measuring about 12,000 sq ft will be situated at the third floor while some 30,000 sq ft at the fourth floor will accommodate a cinema.

Hotel amenities such as function rooms, fitness/spa centre and poolside will be placed at the fourth levels of the mall. Fifth floor onwards are dedicated to hotel and apartment units totalling 258 rooms. The property is owned by MD Realty & Development Sdn Bhd (MD Realty), a subsidiary of the MD Group of Companies.

“Every aspect of the mall is being meticulously looked into at its planning stage for the past one year. Each floor has proper zoning area so that retail outlets are in order and ensuring the floors are constantly vibrant.

“Negotiations are presently on-going with reputable international and local retail brands, promising a wide spectrum of comprehensive consumer preferences,” Group chairman Donald Lawan told a press conference at MD Realty office here yesterday.

Promising an ideal and convenient shopping environment, the former Bukit Begunan assemblyman said three naturally ventilated basement parking bays for about 1,500 vehicles will be built. Each basement has its own entrance and exits for easy access while avoiding traffic congestion. Entrances are available via Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Wan Alwi and Jalan Chawan.

D-Valley Mall, with its gross development value (GDV) of about RM400 million, will offer investors an opportunity to convert their surplus funds into lucrative tangible investments as owners of a commercial property in a fast appreciating sector.

“Given the tremendous potential for appreciation in value of commercial properties in Kuching, the retail density provided by the existing shopping malls in this city is still much lower than that of other Malaysian cities.

“Investors can expected to benefit whether or not they utilise the shop units they purchase as similar properties in other parts of the country could fetch a much higher commercial value,” Lawan continued.

He assured that the property management will have control of about 70 per cent of the area while the remaining 30 per cent are those who lease back their properties to the mall. Investors will be given a nine-year initial limit so that they could capitalise on the appreciation in value.

A total of 560 units of retail outlets, with size ranging from 114 sq ft to 782 sq ft, are offered for sale at the mall with prices ranging from an affordable RM116,000 onwards per unit. The duration of the strata title is 99 years. Exclusive studio apartment units are available for sale and leased back to the management for 25 years with a guaranteed return of six per cent annually for the first three years. Buyers are also entitled to six-night complimentary stay at the hotel per year. The studio unit apartments are priced from RM290,000.

Malaysia has 30 USD Billionaires

3 more join Malaysia’s billionaires’ club

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia now has 30 billionaires, three more than last year, despite a slight drop in the combined wealth of the country’s 40 richest individuals.

Hong Kong-based Robert Kuok remains Malaysia’s richest, despite some eight per cent drop in his fortune to RM45.7 billion.

At number two is T. Ananda Krishnan, whose wealth eased six per cent to RM42.9 billion, but narrowing the gap with Kuok.

Malaysia’s 40 richest were collectively worth RM193.2 billion as of Jan 20, a seven per cent decline from RM206.3 billion a year ago, as the global credit crisis and weak equity markets took a toll on them.

In its Feb 16 issue, Malaysian Business magazine said Public Bank founder Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow kept his third spot relatively intact with a fortune of RM12.6 billion, one per cent lower than a year before.

Despite a 10.8 per cent drop in his worth to RM11.3 billion, plantation firm IOI Corp Bhd’s Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng maintained his fourth position.

Fifth is Bumiputera entrepreneur Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary of DRB-Hicom group, whose wealth grew by eight per cent to RM9.5 billion.

 Hong Leong Group's Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan remained at No. 6 with a 25 per cent decline in value to RM8 billion.

 Next was Genting Group's Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who slipped two rungs down to seventh with RM7.5 billion.

 His wealth was down by about 30 per cent while his mother, Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua, widow of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, returned to No. 8 with a fortune of RM6.5 billion even though down by some 11 per cent.

 Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King of timber and newspaper group  Rimbunan Hijau,  and Singapore domiciled tycoon Ong Beng Seng, reaffirmed their ninth and 10th spots, respectively.

 Tiong's wealth was estimated at RM6.4 billion, while Ong's soared by 23 per cent to RM4.9 billion.

 The three newcomers to the list are Datuk A.K. Nathan of Eversendai Corp and Ngau Boon Keat of oil and gas firm Dialog Group, who made it to the billionaire's list for the first time.

  Datuk Abdul Hamed Sepawi of timber-based Ta Ann Holdings Bhd also made a comeback after a four-year lapse.

 The full list of the 40 tycoons and details of their wealth are in the magazine's Feb 16 issue. It also features the 10 richest tycoons on the ACE market.

(From left) Datuk A.K. Nathan and Ngau Boon Keat are new billionaires in Malaysia. Datuk Abdul Hamed Sepawi (right) returned to the list after a four-year lapse.

Sarawak and Sabah banking licences taken away for the past decade?

Tuesday February 26, 2013

CIMB delivers record profit of RM4.35bil in 2012 - what's next?

By CHOONG EN HAN han@thestar.com.my

Something to smile about: Nazir (left) and CIMB group chief financial officer Kenny Kim at the press conference to announce the banking group’s 2012 results.

PETALING JAYA: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has delivered another sterling performance, this time with a record RM4.35bil in net profit for the year 2012, a 7.8% year-on-year growth.

Next on its growth trajectory? Focusing on improving the performance of its fledging operations in Thailand and looking into a dual listing. “We have delivered another set of record profits for financial year 2012, underpinned by strong earnings growth in most of our business lines,” CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak told reporters after announcing the group's financial results yesterday.

He said the record year was achieved without aggressive lending growth and also despite investing and undergoing substantial internal changes in line with its CIMB 2.0 theme, in a bid to strengthen its competitive edge going forward.

Revenue for the year rose 11.3% to RM13.49bil, and net interest income grew by 10.6% while non-interest income expanded by 12.7%.

For the fourth-quarter ended Dec 31, 2012, the group's net profit was 4.5% lower at RM1.082bil due to the large gain on the deconsolidation of CIMB Aviva recorded in 2011.

“If you look at our international expansion, the one market that we are slightly behind schedule is Thailand, and we are looking for a better performance there,” he said.

He said the lagging performance was partly due to deviation from political events and natural disasters that the bank could not foresee and forecast in its growth path.

Looking into 2013, he said earnings generation would be derived from new markets coupled with synergies that the group would reap by integrating its recently acquired Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's (RBS) Asian operations into its Asean platform. Saying the acquisition was expected to be completed by April, he added that he expects nothing particularly unusual about the integration of RBS. On market perception that the integration of RBS might face some hurdles, Nazir noted that the prognosis from the RBS acquisition had so far been positive.

“CIMB, over the past many years, has made several acquisitions, including GK Goh, Southern Bank, Bumiputera Commerce, Lippo Bank, and in the case of organic expansion, growing our business in Singapore and Cambodia from zero to where it is now,” he said.

He said the banking giant's expansion was ahead of its time and has chalked up success, consequently lifting the group's return over equity (ROE) from a single-digit growth rate to 16% now, adding that its credit growth for 2013 would be at least 15%. “We are excited about our stronger and enlarged business platform.

“We believe that we can sustain a net ROE of 16% for 2013 on our higher capital and cost base, by driving revenues and efficiencies, especially from our newly merged business units and enlarged investment banking operations,” he elaborated.

S’wak terokai arang batu tampung permintaan industri

Posted on February 4, 2013, Monday

SIBU: Sarawak akan men­erokai sumber arang batu di negeri ini yang mempunyai simpanan kira-kira 0.5 bilion tan bagi meningkatkan keu­payaan mengeluarkan sum­ber tenaga berasaskan arang batu pada harga lebih murah bagi menampung permintaan sektor-sektor industri.

Ketua Menteri Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud berkata, untuk tujuan itu, kerajaan negeri telah menubuhkan satu syarikat bagi menarik peny­ertaan lebih banyak syarikat beroperasi mengeksploitasi sumber arang batu untuk mengeluarkan sumber tenaga berdasarkan perkongsian.

Berucap pada konvokesyen Kolej Laila Taib (KLT) di sini semalam, beliau berkata, melalui dasar perkongsian itu, harga sumber tenaga arang batu yang dikeluarkan itu nanti boleh dikenakan pada kadar minimum.

Seramai 316 pelajar yang berjaya menamatkan pen­gajian dalam bidang teknikal di KLT menerima diploma masing-masing daripada Ketua Menteri.

“Kita bertuah kerana mem­punyai sumber tenaga yang baik daripada hidro dan arang batu untuk membolehkan kita meletakkan asas menarik lebih banyak industri berat dan industri sampingannya bagi pembangunan Sarawak dalam tempoh 20 tahun,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, dengan adanya simpanan sumber arang batu yang banyak di negeri ini, Sarawak berhasrat membina lebih banyak stesen jana kuasa yang digerakkan arang batu untuk meng­hasilkan sumber tenaga yang murah.

Terdahulu, Taib, yang juga Menteri Perancangan Sumber negeri, berkata di bawah perancangan SCORE (Ko­ridor Tenaga Diperbaharui Sarawak), Sarawak berpotensi menghasilkan 20,000 mega­watt sumber tenaga.

“Sumber tenaga yang akan dikeluarkan itu secara relatif­nya lebih murah berbanding tempat-tempat lain di ne­gara ini, yang kebanyakannya daripada hidro,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Taib ber­kata Sarawak memerlukan ramai tenaga mahir daripada kalangan rakyat tempatan dalam pelbagai bidang te­knikal bagi menampung permintaan sektor-sektor industri di negeri ini ter­masuk penghasilan sumber tenaga daripada arang batu dan hidro. — Bernama

Semenanjung-owned SapuraKencana to get Samarang CPP contract in Sabah from Petronas

 Shahril Samsudin, Kencana Executive Chairman

 Mokhzani Mahathir, substantial shareholder of SapuraKencana

Datuk Seri Shamsul Abbas, President and CEO of Petronas

Saturday January 12, 2013

SapuraKencana likely to win Samarang CPP contract

By NG BEI SHAN
beishan@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd has started the ball rolling on the 10 central processing platform (CPP) contracts it is eyeing for this year.

This comes on the heels of reports that the oil and gas (O&G) heavyweight was “well-placed” to clinch the Samarang CPP project fromPetroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

A prominent O&G publication has reported that SapuraKencana was well-positioned to secure the turnkey project, which would involve the construction and installation of a CPP. The CPP, with a 10,000 deck, is likely to come equipped with gas compression and water injection modules, with an expected completion date of 2015.

An analyst with UOB KayHian Research said: “This kind of unit ranges from RM1.2bil to RM2.7bil.”

He said the news did not come as a surprise, as analysts covering the country's largest oilfield services provider by market capitalisation had factored in RM3bil to RM5bil of contracts for the year.

“If it secures the project, slightly more than RM1bil might be added to its order book,” another analyst said, adding that he expected many more projects to flow in since it was only the beginning stages of the year.

In a recent note, AmResearch analyst Alex Goh said: “This new contract is part of the 10 CPP contracts that SapuraKencana is eyeing this year, as well as other multiple platform projects.

“The group's tenderbook of RM30bil currently includes bids of RM11bil that have been submitted, including the five new Petrobras pipelay or diving support vessels.”

Samarang is a mature oilfield off Sabah and the contract involves engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning for a CPP.

He said: “A hook-up and commissioning contract awarded to SapuraKencana is understood to be tied to modification work on the existing platforms.”

According to the report, the CPP is among the new facilities planned under the phased re-development of the mature oilfield. Petronas took over the shallow reef discovery in 1995 from Shell, 20 years after it was brought into production.

He also said the phased Samarang re-development was aimed at doubling the field output by lifting its oil recovery rate from 41% to 51% and expected the oilfield's production life to be extended by another 15 years.

Meanwhile, Goh was also positive on its US$2.9bil rig acquisition fromSeadrill, comprising 10 tender-assisted rigs (TAGs) plus a 49% stake each in five TAGs and five TAGs under construction.

With the deal, SapuraKencana would emerge as a leader in the global tender rig business, controlling more than 50% of the market.

AmResearch maintains a “buy” call on the counter with an unchanged fair value of RM3.70 per share. Data from Bloomberg showed that most analysts have given it a “buy” recommendation, with a consensus 12-month price target of RM3.42. The stock closed unchanged at RM3 with 9.7 million shares changing hands yesterday.

Ringgit continue to appreciate against US dollar

Ringgit expected to hit RM2.95 by year-end

Posted on January 10, 2013, Thursday

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to appreciate to RM2.95 against the US dollar by year-end on expectation that Malaysia’s international reserves will continue to improve.

HIGH VALUE: Economists expect the ringgit to appreciate to RM2.95 against the US dollar by year-end 2013 on expectation that Malaysia’s international reserves will continue to improve.

The currency closed at RM3.05 per dollar last year.

Expressing optimism, Alliance Research economist Manokaran Mottain said international reserves could hit US$150 billion by end-2013.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) international reserves ended the year at US$139.7 billion on December 31, 2012 against US$139.2 billion recorded on December 14, 2012.

Manokaran said the increase was largely attributed to continued inflow of foreign direct investment and portfolio funds into the economy, given the favourable positive interest rate differential, which stood at a record 290 basis points.

“On the other hand, resilient economic outlook and steady interest rate expectations could have also contributed to increased foreign investors’ participation, especially in the bond market,” he said in a note yesterday.

Manokaran said reserves also rose due to surpluses from export activities over the last three months.

“As a result of increasing funds flowing into the system, we estimate excess liquidity in the banking system to remains abundant at about RM295 billion on December 31,” he said.

Meanwhile, RAM Holdings Bhd (RAM) group chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said international reserves would continue to increase at a steady pace this year, underpinned by both direct and foreign capital inflow, as well as, continuous trade surpluses.

“The international reserves is at healthy level and it will strengthen the currency market,” he told Bernama.

High international reserves was one factor that would underpin the strength of ringgit, said Yeah, adding that the local unit was likely to hover between RM2.90 and RM2.95 over the next 11 months.

Alam Maritim gets anchor-handling tug-supply contract from petronas and workboat charter from dayang

Alam Maritim wins RM32mil contracts

KUALA LUMPUR: Alam Maritim Resources Bhd has secured two contracts to provide vessels with a total value of RM32mil.
The company said its unit Alam Maritim (M) Sdn Bhd had received letters of contract extension from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd to provide two anchor-handling tug-supply (AHTS) vessels valued at RM23.3mil.
Its unit also received a letter of award from Dayang Enterprise Sdn Bhd to provide one workboat valued at RM8.6mil.
Alam Maritim said the RM32mil contracts were expected to contribute positively to its earnings and net assets in the financial year ending Dec 31 and beyond.

Alvin Lau opens palm oil nursery in Miri Bintulu coastal road

Planting the seeds of success

Posted on November 28, 2012, Wednesday

PROPER CARE: Lau standing in front of rows of young oil palm trees at the Miri Best One nursery.Lau reveals that the seedlings take about one year to reach full maturity before it can be planted in the estates.

MIRI: Despite being a newcomer in the oil palm nursery business, Miri Best One Sdn Bhd (Miri Best One) strives to produce the best oil palm seedlings in the industry.

Established in 2008 as Kai Nguong Nursery’s outward venture to tap into the growing and highly-in-demand oil palm seedling business, Miri Best One’s agricultural practice hopes to put quality first in all stages of growth.

With a land area of 20 acres, the nursery is planted with around 210,000 young oil palm trees (or often called as oil palm seedlings), of which 180,000 are comprised of the DxP Felda Yangambi hybrid and the rest are the Calix 600 – a new super hybrid from Sime Darby Seeds and Agricultural Services.

The nursery is located some 30km from Miri, off the Miri-Bintulu coastal road.

Its managing director Alvin Lau said the process of oil palm cultivation is a difficult one, where a lot of care is involved.

“The seedlings must receive enough water, fertilizer, right soil and sunshine,” he added. “These young trees need to be watered as least twice a day as they use a lot of water,” he pointed out.

Lau revealed that the seedlings take about one year to reach full maturity before it can be planted in the estates.

“A seedling that has not grown well in the nursery will produce oil palm tree. Therefore, we eliminate the poor ones from the good ones – where this process is called culling – and out of the total seedlings, about 80 percent are deemed good,” Lau explained.

Apart from pests and diseases, the seedlings also suffer from abnormal growth.

“A good characteristic of good germinated palm oil seedlings is that they will be able to grow into healthy trees, bearing much fruits,” Lau explained.

Every month, the nursery produces about 10,000 young oil palm trees ready to be planted in the estates, he said.However, many of Lau’s customers also come from smallholders who sometimes even purchase up to a few hundred young trees.

“We also have orders of up to thousands of tress from the big plantation companies,” he revealed, adding that each young tree is being sold at RM13.

As an assurance of quality, the nursery has also obtained the Oil Palm Nursery Certificate of Competency meeting MPOB’s stringent requirements of high standards in infrastructure, facilities and nursery practices.

In a nutshell, Miri Best One believes in providing the best seedlings for its customers to ensure they have bountiful harvest and big returns for their investment.

Hock Seng Lee grows in size

HSL to see further growth and procurement success for new projects

Posted on November 30, 2012, Friday

KUCHING: Sarawak-based infrastructure company Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL) is set to enjoy further growth and procurement success based on the group records earnings for the third quarter of the financial year 2012 (3QFY12) while it rakes in more new projects.

In a press release, director Dato Paul Yu Chee Hoe said, “Net profit before tax for the nine months up to September 30 2012 was RM86.53 million up six per cent from the RM81.64 million achieved over the same period of 2011.”

Meanwhile revenue rose some five per cent for the January to September 2012 period to RM443.16 million from RM422.93 million for the same period in 2011.

Additionally, HSL reported RM30.39 million net profit before tax for 3QFY12, up marginally from the RM30.16 million recorded for 3QFY11 while revenue for the quarter under review was RM152.24 million, an increase of one per cent against the preceding year corresponding quarter’s figure of RM150.42 million.

Boosting HSL’s growth, some RM525 million worth of new projects had been added during 2012 to date while RM375 million worth had been completed.

HSL secured RM313 million worth of new projects in 2011, while it currently had RM1.9 billion worth of projects in hand with an outstanding value of RM1.1 billion, he added.

The most recent additions to the order book included the RM291 million new campus for UITM Mukah and Senibong secondary school, a construction sub-contract worth RM39.5 million.

“Our strength in our core business areas of marine engineering and infrastructure works provides us a competitive edge in pursuing contracts in Sarawak,” said Yu.

He added, “Moreover, our sound financial position with no borrowings and a RM177 million cash pile as at the end of the nine-month reporting period, places the group in an advantageous position when structuring project proposals where financing or land-swap deals may be involved.

“This is particularly the case when bidding for urgent public construction works whereby upfront available funding may be short.”

Currently, HSL’s largest on-hand project remains the 75 per cent completed Kuching City Centralised Wastewater Management project (Package 1) which is being undertaken by way of hi-tech tunnelling.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) which included an Inlet Pumping Station, Headworks, an Activated Sludge Reactor, Secondary Clarifier and wetlands, was recently completed and had hosted numerous visitors.

The Sarawak Minister for Infrastructure and Communications, Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong emphasised the importance of the project in alleviating the serious pollution of local rivers which currently absorbed some 175 million litres of Kuching’s untreated dirty wastewater every day and he called on the public to be co-operative as the contractor entered the individual property connections phase.

Looking ahead, HSL anticipates further contributions to safeguard the future health of Kuching by bidding for Phase 2 of this essential centralised sewerage project.

Old Town White Coffee gets biggest share of Malaysian kopitiam market

Oldtown beats earnings forecasts with resilient FMCG division

by Venu Puthankattil, venu@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 1, 2012, Saturday

KUCHING: Oldtown Bhd (Oldtown) has surpassed consensus estimates for financial results of the first nine months of financial year 2012 (9MFY12), on the back of its resilient fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) division which offset seasonal weakness of its food and beverage (F&B) segment.

The group’s 9MFY12 core net profit of RM35 million, accounting for 78.1 per cent of consensus’ full-year estimates; resilient profit before tax from its FMCG business inched up marginally by 1.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q).

This earnings boost in turn had helped to offset the sequential 12 per cent drop in profit before tax in the F&B segment which saw weaker earnings in the third quarter (3Q), attributable to slower sales during the Ramadan month.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd (OSK Research) analyst Danny Chan observed that the “gross margins remained stable at 31.9 per cent this year compared with 32 per cent over the corresponding period last year, probably due to stable coffee prices throughout the year and management’s successful marketing efforts, which did not involve sacrificing margins in order to stimulate sales.”

“On a year-to-date basis, FMCG sales grew 24.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) while F&B sales jumped 19.8 per cent y-o-y as export sales continued to outperform sales to the domestic market.

“This reaffirms our view that the stock’s main catalyst lies with its FMCG business.

“We are of the view that the group’s exports will see significant growth next year once its new factory in China commences operation,” he highlighted.

Chan added that the group had declared an interim dividend of six sen per share compared with 2.5 sen per share during the corresponding period last year.

The group’s balance sheet remained sturdy as it was in a net cash position, he pointed out.

Oldtown had added six new outlets to its portfolio, bringing the total number of outlets to 213 (11 in Malaysia, one in Singapore, three in Indonesia and two in China) as at 3Q of 2012, compared to 196 as at end-FY11.

The analyst made no changes to OSK Research’s previous forecasts as he believed that the company should be able to open nine more outlets by the end of this quarter, boosting the total to 221 outlets.

He pointed out that besides launching its first kiosk outlet in KLCC recently, the group had recently opened its first newly designed signature outlet (in Mid Valley Megamall) which was described as “relatively small in size but embodies the ‘tradition meets modern’ appeal.” With the mall attracting some 30 million to 33 million visitors annually, he opined that this Oldtown outlet would be profitable as it would benefit from the mall’s success in attracting and retaining shoppers.

“With the exit of KFC Holdings (M) Bhd and QSR Brands Bhd from the local bourse by the end of the year, we continue to like Oldtown for exposure in the F&B sector.

“This is premised on the group’s consistent top- and bottom-line expansion and potential growth in its overseas business,” he reckoned.

The analyst tweaked the research house’s forecasts to reflect the change in the group’s financial year ending from December to March, revealing earnings estimates of RM57.3 million for FY13 (15 months) and RM59.8 million for FY14.

In tandem with the earnings forecast revision, he revised upwards the fair value of the stock to RM2.60 per share as he pegged the stock to 15 times FY13 earnings per share.

“That said, we believe the stock could rerate to 17 to 18 times forward earnings next year if the company can translate overseas expansion strategy into profits,” he concluded.