Saturday, April 24, 2010 Automotive sector shifts into high gear · 2010-06-09 · B12 Saturday,...

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Saturday, April 24, 2010 BUSINESSB12

KUCHING: SupermaxCorporation Bhd(Supermax)’s results for thefirst quarter of this year(1QFY10) was aboveconsensus and expectations,making up 31 per cent of thisyear’s forecast.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd(OSK Research)in itsresearch report yesterdaypointed out that the 1QFY10revenue of RM220.7 millionwas higher by 12.3 per centquarter-on-quarter (q-o-q)mainly contributed bysurging sales and higherselling prices of gloves asthe company passed on thehigher latex cost to itscustomers.

OSK Research said thatthe increase was alsocontributed by continuousdemand for medicalexamination gloves whichallowed Supermax toeffectively pass throughover 90 per cent of its costsin a timely manner. It addedthat the revenue growth alsoled to a higher 1QFY10 corenet profit of RM51.5 millionwhich was an increase offour per cent q-o-q.

In recapping, the researchhouse stated that there wasan exceptional item in the

Automotive sector shifts into high gearKUCHING: Theautomotive sector iscurrently seeing a positiveuptake as the total industryvolume for March of 56,139units was higher by 25 percent year-on-year (Y-o-Y)and 22.4 per cent to-date.

This was due to the lowbase effect last year whenthe overall economicoutlook was shrouded byuncertainty, noted OSKResearch Sdn Bhd (OSKResearch) in its latestresearch report.

According to the report,vehicle sales in Marchzoomed up by 38 per centmonth-on-month (M-o-M)while the passenger andcommercial segmentsrecorded 24 per cent and 33per cent Y-o-Y growthrespectively.

The research house noted

that Perusahaan OtomobilKedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua)maintained its pole positionas its market share obtaineda lift from its MPV variantand sales of its Myvinormalised to 7,000 units.

OSK Researchmaintained ProtonHoldings Bhd (Proton) insecond place as its marketshare increased morerapidly as Exora salespeaked at its highest levelin eight months while salesof the Saga reached ahistorical high of 7,715 unitsmaking it the best sellingcar year to date.

Third-place ToyotaMalaysia saw its marketshare declining marginallysaid the research firm.However, the researchhouse believed that sales ofthe Camry, Altis and Prius

models were regainingmomentum despite thehammering it received inthe US and recall of its cars.

Honda Malaysia marketshare fell on weak sales,added the research house,sliding 5.8 per cent year to-date as sales halted on theimpending launch of its newCRV towards the end of themonth.

Nonetheless, the researchreport affirmed that vehiclesales for Honda would pickup rapidly given the strongdemand for the CRV as wellas its upcoming new MPV.

It added that NissanMalaysia sales improvedacross the board, hitting itshighest monthly sales of2,152 units largely driven byresilient sales of its GrandLivina, Sylphy and Navaratrucks.

The research reportretained its view on targetprices for Proton at RM5.90per share and MBMResources Bhd for RM3.54per share, while Tan ChongMotor Holdings Bhd’s targetprice was kept under review.

In addition, it believedthat the improved demandwould be favourable forauto part suppliers such asEP Manufacturing Bhd(EPMB) with a target priceof RM0.59 per share givenits tier one supply statuswith Perodua and Proton.

OSK Research also keptits target price of UMVHoldings Bhd at RM6.62 pershare due to the lack ofcatalysts from its oil and gasdivision despite havingfactored in an earningsuptick from its autodivision.

Hygiene awareness drives demand for examination glovesfourth quarter of last yearin the form of a one-offinterest payment of RM5.4million arising from thecompany’s earlierredemption of its bonds. Itadded that revenue and netprofit were higher year todate (YTD), bolsteredmainly by higherproduction capacity andhigher selling prices ofgloves.

OSK Research had revisedits 2010 and 2011 forecastsby 14 per cent to 18 per cent.Its upgrade was in line withthe stellar 1QFY10 resultsand anticipation of robustdemand for examinationgloves as hygiene awarenessamong the global populationgrows.

The research housefavoured the company’sideal product mix targetingthe right markets indeveloping countries. Itbelieved the company waspoised to be one of the bigbeneficiaries as hygienestandards in developingcountries like China andIndia start to move up asawareness grows.

Therefore, it upgraded itstarget price for Supermax toRM11.39 per share.

RAPID GROWTH: Malaysia’s economy is on the rise as 1Q10 figures show a surprisingly brisk expansion rate.

Malaysian 1Q10 GDP performancebrings good tidings for coming quartersKUCHING: The Malaysianeconomy is accelerating itsexpansion rate as firstquarter of 2010 (1Q10)figures show exports as oneof the main drivers forsignificant GDP growth.

AmResearch Sdn Bhd(AmResearch) reportedthat the Malaysianeconomy might haveprobably expanded at amore rapid pace in the firstquarter of 2010 (1Q10) withprivate sector spending byhouseholds as well asexports leading the way.

It added Malaysia’sexports performancebenefited fromimprovements in externaldemand especially fromregional economiesand stronger commodityprices.

The research housestated an earlier estimateof six to seven per centgrowth based on twomonths’ data but recentdevelopments had raisedtheir expectations to amuch stronger grossdomestic product (GDP)growth of 9.8 per cent.

Bank Negara Malaysia(BNM) upgraded its 2010GDP growth forecast to 4.5to 5.5 per cent last monthwhile the World Bank waslooking at a more optimisticgrowth figure of 5.7 per centthis year, it revealed.

AmResearch forecasted a

16.8 per cent growth for themanufacturing sector inthe first three months of theyear which wouldcontribute four per centpoints to first quarter (1Q)GDP.

Growth drivers wouldcertainly come from theelectrical and electronic(E&E) sector which hadalready posted a 33 per centgrowth in the January toFebruary period, theresearch firm said.

It reported a strongforecast figure of 12.3 percent for the manufacturingsector which representednearly 28 per cent of totalGDP this year.

E&E productsrepresented more than nineper cent of GDP and morethan 50 per cent of totalexports from Malaysia, theresearch househighlighted.

Meanwhile, it mentionedthat growth was higher ateight per cent comparedwith the fourth quarter of2009 (4Q09) figure of 5.1 percent in the services sectordriven primarily by strongperformance in finance andinsurance, wholesale andretail trade, and real estateand business services sub-sectors.

As a whole, a forecastedgrowth of 7.1 per centcontributing at least 4.1 percent points to GDP and

representing a share-to-GDP ratio of 56.9 per cent in2010, AmResearch said.

On another note, itpointed out consumptionwas expected to rise on theback of improvements inthe labour market,disposable incomes andconsumer confidence in theprivate sector.

The research firmforecasted growth of 4.5 percent this year against 0.8 percent in 2009 with anexpectation that investmentwould rebound with theplanned investment ininfrastructure and recoveryin external demand.

The trade surplus shouldlikely remain large at RM37billion in 1Q10 as both grossexports and importsrecovered to post positivegrowth rates of 26 per centand 30 per centrespectively, according toAmResearch.

Moreover, it stated theyear-end target for theovernight policy rate (OPR)would now be at three percent compared with 2.75 percent previously.

The research house sawthe ringgit rallying towardsan exchange rate of US$1:RM3.10 by the end of theyear moving towards itsnew fair value (FV) sincethe trade-weighted indexwas a function of GDP andOPR.PROFITABLE: First quarter increase also contributed by continuous

demand for medical examination gloves

POLE POSITION: Perodua maintains its pole position as its market share obtained a lift from its MPV variant andsales of its Myvi normalised to 7,000 units.

KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysia Airlines (MAS) isrisking profitability, shouldit choose to retain oldaircraft, said KenangaResearch yesterday.

The national carrierreported that it may allowturboprop operator, Firefly,to use its fleet of B737-400planes as it receives newaircraft by year-end and in2011.

However, the managementhas reiterated that the planis still ongoing, as it was

MAS risking profitability in choosing toretain old aircraft — Kenanga Research

considering other options.“Should the plan

materialise, we areconcerned as to the abilityof Firefly to sustain efficientoperating costs whileoffering lower ticket prices,”Kenanga Research said inan equity note, here.

The research housesuggested that thefavourable option is toreturn the old aircraft toPenerbangan Malaysia Bhd,to reduce the operating cost.

“If Firefly took over the

lease of B737-400s, it willindirectly prolonged MAS’lease tenure for the oldaircraft for up to seven yearsand certainly increaseoperating costs,” KenangaResearch highlighted.

Although there is no firmdeal yet, Kenanga Researchsaid it feels Firefly will optto operate the B737-400s atthe Low Cost CarrierTerminal (LCCT) due tocheaper airport costs, whichis reflective of its businessmodel. — Bernama

By Jonathan Chia

KUCHING: The Law ofAttraction is a science ofattracting more of what youwant and less of what youdon’t.

The teaching, which isstarted in Malaysia by twocouples who have decided todedicate themselves intocoaching people fromdifferent industries toachieve what they desire byhitting ‘reset button’. ‘Resetbutton’ is a three-step formulafor deliberate attraction. Thethree-step formula fordeliberate attraction will beable to provide tools toremove any doubt.

“Currently, we arecoaching people from thecorporate and alsoindividuals who want tochange their lives andperform to the peak of theirperformance especially forpeople who are in sales.Testimonials have shownthat participants who haveparticipated in our coachingshow very positive resultsand everything that they

have learnt during thecoaching session will lastthem forever,” said one ofthe co-owner of The Law ofAttraction Centre,Sivapragasam Arumugam.

Arumugam was once anengineer decided to ventureinto this business togetherwith his wife and a coupleafter obtainingcertifications as a trainer inVancouver. They went on toset up The Law of AttractionCentre in Malaysia.

“The response we getthrough the manyprogrammes that we haveorganised was good as peoplewant to know about thisteaching and in return, theteaching will be able to helpthem in their daily lives,”explained Arumugam.

When talking about thecentre’s plan for this year,he pointed out that they weregoing to have a road showsoon and would organise afull day celebration forparticipants who attended.Besides that, they would bealso inviting keynotespeakers for the event and

KUALA LUMPUR:Prospects for the propertysector this year are positivedue to the healthierperformance of the domesticeconomy and furtherstabilisation of externaleconomies, Deputy FinanceMinister Datuk WiraChor Chee Heung saidyesterday.

For the first three monthsof the year, the total numberof property transactions was91,979 valued at RM25.294billion, up from 79,024transactions worthRM16.922 billion in the firstquarter of 2009, he said.

The Malaysian propertymarket recorded a modestperformance last year, witha total of 337,859transactions worthRM80.997 billion comparedto 340,240 transactionsvalued at RM88.34 billion in2008, he told reporters afterlaunching the Valuation andProperty ServicesDepartment’s publicationshere.

Among the publicationswere ‘Property MarketReport 2009’, ‘LaporanStatus Pasaran Harta TanahSuku Keempat Tahun 2009’,‘Laporan Stok HartaTanah Suku KeempatTahun 2009’ and ‘LaporanIndeks Harga RumahMalaysia Suku Ketiga-Keempat 2009’.

“The government hasintroduced variousmeasures under the recentbudget to stimulate andpromote the propertymarket and there is also aneed to attract foreign directinvestments (FDIs),” Chorsaid. — Bernama

Prospects forproperty sectorpositive thisyear — Chor

Michael Losier would be oneof the speakers.

He stated that on October9, Michael would be doing afull-day programme inKuala Lumpur, followed bya special time with him andfriends in Langkawi.

“From March until April,we have been travelling togive coaching to people,starting in Kuala Lumpur,Penang, Johor Baharu andnow in Kuching to givecoaching today to interestedparticipants. After this, we’llalso be going to Serembanand Kota Kinabalu.”

“What we want to do is tohelp people to identify theirideal desire and be inspiredto take action in order to getideal desire,” he added.

A talk will be held today atthe ground floor ofKingwood Inn, Kuchingfrom 2pm to 6pm. Interestedparticipants who want tolearn more about theteaching will need to payRM99 per person. Forfurther enquiries, contactSivapragasam Arumugamat 019-272 9140.

Learn how to reset using The Law of Attraction

RESET COACHES: Two couples dedicate themselves into coaching people from different industries to achieve whatthey desire by hitting ‘reset button’.