KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): Here is a brief recap of some corporate announcements that made the news on Monday, involving: SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, FM Global Logistics Holdings Bhd,TSH Resources Bhd, MPHB Capital Bhd, Dialog Group Bhd, Senheng New Retail Bhd, Bina Darulaman Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, D&O Green Technologies Bhd, and NTPM Holdings Bhd.

SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd is acquiring aircraft structure parts and precision engineering components manufacturer Aviatron (M) Sdn Bhd for US$43.4 million (approximately RM203.2 million), cash.The acquisition of Aviatron — the manufacturer of nacelle beams for Boeing and Airbus — is a related party transaction (RPT) as SAM Engineering is buying the stake from its major shareholder Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing Pte Ltd (SAMPL), which controls 62.49% of SAM Engineering. To fund the acquisition, SAM Engineering also proposed a renounceable one-for-four rights involving 135.397 million new shares at an indicative issue price of RM4.12, to raise RM557.84 million. Its counter closed at RM4.70 on Monday.  Proceeds not used to fund the acquisition will be used by SAM Engineering to repay advances from SAMPL and to repay its bank borrowings.

Practice Note 17 (PN17) outfit KNM Group Bhd will hold a court-convened creditors meeting in relation to its proposed scheme of arrangement (SOA) on Oct 12, days prior to an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to decide on the fate of its board. 

Higher operating costs and unfavourable foreign exchange (forex) loss dragged Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit down by 75.98% in the second quarter ended July 31, 2023 (2QFY2024) to RM23.65 million, from RM98.47 million a year earlier.This came in tandem with a 5.56% decline in quarterly revenue of RM869.82 million, as compared with RM921.12 million previously, due to a decrease in subscription revenue and merchandise sales. In the quarter, Astro saw finance costs swell 61.44% to RM74.1 million from RM45.9 million in 2QFY2023, due to unfavourable unrealised forex loss arising from unhedged lease liabilities.

FM Global Logistics Holdings Bhd, a logistics solutions provider, has acquired Singapore-based CAC Logistics Services Pte Ltd for RM18.86 million (S$5.5 million) cash, as it looks to expand its footing regionally. CAC currently operates 236,496 sq ft of warehousing space in Singapore. FM Global's indirect wholly owned subsidiary, FM Global Logistics Ventures Sdn Bhd, inked a sale and purchase agreement with the vendors Anthony Ng Koon Leng and Randy Cheong Yew Fei on Monday for the acquisition.

TSH Resources Bhd will be admitted to the official list of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST) on Sept 26, under the stock code “TSH”. Trading in the shares on the Main Board of the SGX-ST will commence on a “ready” basis with effect from 9am (Singapore time) on the same day. According to the eligibility-to-list on the Main Board of the SGX-ST (ETL), the latest price of TSH at market close on Monday was RM1 per share (approximately S$0.2918 per share), the oil palm plantation company said.

Ernst and Young PLT (EY) has resigned as auditors for MPHB Capital Bhd and its subsidiaries after being appointed as the group’s auditor since its incorporation in 2012. The group said the resignation of EY is based on mutual consent of both parties as the group wishes to appoint another audit firm as its auditors.

Dialog Group Bhd, via its wholly owned indirect subsidiary Dialog Malic Sdn Bhd, will build, own and operate a RM374.8 million speciality chemical plant producing malic acid in Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang. The plant, located within the integrated chemical site operated by BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn Bhd, marks the group’s first foray into production of specialty chemicals. Malic acid is a specialty chemical that is mainly used as a food additive in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, and has a steady market demand.

Senheng New Retail Bhd is acquiring its currently leased central distribution centre (CDC) for a purchase consideration of RM75.8 million to strengthen the group’s supply chain. Senheng’s wholly-owned subsidiary Senheng Electric (KL) Sdn Bhd entered into a sale and purchase agreement with SDM Assets III Sdn Bhd (SDM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby Property MIT Development Sdn Bhd, to secure ownership of the CDC. The acquisition will result in significant annual gross rental savings of RM4.2 million for the group.

The Kedah government’s investment holding company Bina Darulaman Bhd (BDB), via its newly set up renewable energy unit BDB Energy Sdn Bhd, is teaming up with a local solar energy firm Pumar Solar Power Sdn Bhd to jointly pursue solar energy opportunities in the country, marking BDB’s first venture into the renewable energy sector.BDB said BDB Energy has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pumar Solar Power, which outlines the terms of their collaboration, with a specific focus on exploring opportunities in Kedah, besides other potential states.

Bumi Armada Bhd's wholly-owned Armada Akia BV has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia for exploration in the Tarakan Basin of the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia (Akia PSC). The oil and gas service provider said its co-bidder for the project, Pexco Tarakan NV, has also entered into the exploration agreement. The production sharing contract covers an area of 8,394 sq km and contains the Aster and Tulip oil and gas discoveries.

The Employees Provident Fund has emerged as a substantial shareholder of automotive light emitting diode (LED) maker D&O Green Technologies Bhd, with a 5.06% stake.The pension fund purchased 1.07 million shares or a 0.09% stake on Sept 20, which pushed its shareholding to 62.61 million shares or a 5.06% stake — beyond the 5% threshold necessary to be deemed a substantial shareholder. 

Paper products manufacturer NTPM Holdings Bhd reported an 84.7% decline in net profit for its first quarter ended July 31, 2023 (1QFY2024) to RM165,000 from RM1.08 million in the same period the previous year, despite slightly higher revenue, no thanks to higher interest, advertising and income tax expenses. While quarterly revenue rose a marginal 3.1% to RM223.9 million from RM217.2 million — on improved contributions from both its tissue paper products segment and personal care products segment, primarily driven by higher average selling prices — the increase was offset by higher interest expenses, advertising costs and general inflationary pressure on administrative expenses, especially higher insurance premium.