TNB will be back in the black in Q2: Che Khalib

Read more: http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20120118012737/Article/

TNB made a net profit of RM716.5 million during the quarter ended November 2010. The utility blamed the shortage of gas for its loss, saying it has had to rely on more expensive oil and distillates to generate electricity. Gas makes up 60 per cent of its fuel mix followed by coal, hydro power and others. TNB president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said the company is likely to record a profit in the current quarter as it will get its RM2 billion compensation or RM1 billion each from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and the government. "We already received RM1 billion from Petronas, which was acting on behalf of the government last December 30. We expect to receive the other RM1 billion from the government by next month. With the RM2 billion, we will definitely be profitable in the second quarter," Che Khalib told reporters at its headquarters here when announcing TNB's results. Due to gas shortage last year, TNB had to use more expensive fuel and distillates worth a total of RM3 billion, withThe government and Petronas agreed to reduce TNB's financial burden by contributing RM1 billion each to the cost. "The situation will hopefully improve by September this year when Petronas LNG (liquefied natural gas) complex in Malacca completes its upgrading works by September this year," he said. Che Khalib said TNB needs 12,500 cu m of gas a day to meet the demand for power, of which Petronas can supply 11,000 cu m as it has to distribute the gas to other industries such as rubber glove, automotive, ceramics, glass and others. To resolve the gas shortage, Che Khalib said TNB will buy gas from the open market at a competitive price from Shell, Esso and Total, reduce its gas dependency on Petronas as well as help the government trim its gas subsidies. "Buying gas from the open market will mean we have additional capex but let us resolve this first with the government which has formed a taskforce on how to address this." Preliminary talks are ongoing between TNB and taskforce members which include Petronas, Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, Economic Planning Unit, Finance Ministry as well as the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu). Che Khalib declined to comment but analysts said TNB can reduce its high cost by getting a tariff hike from the government. He said the Energy Commission is also laying out its policies such as on the orderly imports of gas to avoid an industry scramble

AirAsia X's adieu may not be forever

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Considering that flights to London end in late March, Branson's skirt challenge is unlikely to happen. "At the direction oil is heading, long haul is very tough but we could probably see them revisiting the routes in the future," OSK Research analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman told Business Times yesterday. Another analyst who declined to be named concurred, saying that the routes could be revisited when AirAsia X takes delivery of its 10 Airbus A350 XWBs between 2016 and 2018. At the signing ceremony of the aircraft order, AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani had said the aircraft would allow it to operate with unprecedented unit costs for long-haul flights to Europe and North America. The A340, which is what AirAsia X is currently using for the London and Paris routes, is known to be a fuel guzzler, contributing to the losses it experienced on these routes. On Thursday, AirAsia X announced it would stop servicing London, Paris, Mumbai and New Delhi by April 2012. "The announcement definitely underscores the difficulty behind the low-cost long-haul model, but AirAsia X flying these routes again are within the realm of possibility," said Standard and Poor's senior aviation analyst Shukor Yusof. Analysts are in agreement that the suspension of its lossmaking routes will make the initial public offering (IPO) for AirAsia X a more attractive one to investors. "AirAsia X is likely to be able to achieve an IPO in 2013," Maghfur said. The 2013 deadline is considered more doable as it would give AirAsia X an opportunity to clean up the red ink in its books. "Of course that is barring any pressing need for cash or to exit the company by its shareholders,"one analyst said.

MASkargo CEO on leave amid domestic probe

While details of the inquiry are sketchy, sources say managing director Shahari Sulaiman has been away since early November 2011.

Read more: MASkargo CEO on leave amid domestic probe http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20111203005922/Article/#ixzz1fQsKkJLT

Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo)'s managing director Shahari Sulaiman has gone on leave amid a domestic inquiry. While details of the inquiry are sketchy, sources say Shahari has been away since early November 2011. It is unclear if he will be reporting back for duty any time soon. It is understood that investigations started as early as August this year and a domestic inquiry was done. The outcome is not known. Just before November, however, fresh allegations were brought up, which led to Shahari going on a leave of absence. Parent company Malaysia Airlines neither denied nor confirmed the news. "Encik Shahari Sulaiman, managing director of Malaysia Airlines subsidiary MASkargo, is currently on leave. "In his absence Encik Mohd Yunus Idris, senior vice president Global Sales and Government Affairs MASkargo, is overseeing the daily operations of the subsidiary," it said in response to queries on the matter. Attempts to contact Shahari were unsuccessful. The head of MAS' continuously profitable air cargo division, Shahari was named managing director in September 1 2007 replacing Datuk Ong Jyh Jong. Prior to that, Shahari was the general manager of cargo operations for MASkargo. Under Shahari's stewardship, MASkargo won the Best Air Cargo Carrier in Asia title at the 23rd annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards 2009 in Hong Kong. Shahari also initiated the upgrading of the Material Handling Cargo System used in the warehouse complex in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, to ensure smoother handling of cargo and an increase in capacity from 650,000 tonnes to one million tonnes per annum. MASkargo made a record pre-tax profit of RM142 million in 2010.

Petronas on track to beat full-year target after strong Q2

Petroliam Nasional Bhd made better quarterly profits mainly on stronger oil prices and is optimistic of beating its earlier full-year pre-tax profit target of RM60 billion.

Read more: Petronas on track to beat full-year target after strong Q2 http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20111201233522/Article/#ixzz1fQqPkyLR

It is confident of making at least RM70 billion this year, which has been shortened to just nine months, as it will be changing the end of its financial year to December 31 from March 31. President and chief executive officer Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas said Petronas' profit has already reached some RM57 billion in the first six months that ended on September 30. "Given the current trend, I see no problem of the company surpassing the initial target," he told a briefing here yesterday. For the second quarter ended September 30 2011, Petronas made a profit of RM18.3 billion on revenue of RM71.8 billion compared with RM11.9 billion and RM56.9 billion, respectively, over the same period last year. Its six-month revenue jumped by a quarter to RM144.8 billion on higher realised prices of petroleum products, crude oil and condensates, liquified natural gas and petrochemical products. Shamsul Abbas warned that the oil and gas industry will not be spared from the global economic uncertainty due to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis concerns and continuing geopolitical risks from the Middle East and North Africa. Already, oil prices have fallen in the current quarter from the second quarter on prolonged concerns over Europe and the US economy. He expects crude oil prices to hover between US$85 (RM268) and US$87 (RM274) per barrel next year. Meanwhile, the group plans to expand its power business in Japan and India, said Datuk Anuar Ahmad, executive vice-president for gas and power business. "We started with Singapore and also looking for Malaysian project in Johor and going to focus on the Asia-Pacific region, including India," he added. Petronas executive vice-president for exploration and production Datuk Wee Yiaw Hin also did not rule out plans to bid for new projects in Myanmar. "Yes, at the moment in Myanmar, we are only in the offshore and business is quite good. We will jointly bid for the onshore fields with our existing partners in Myanmar." Shamsul Abbas said Petronas will contribute RM1 billion to the National Trust Fund this year. "For the last 16 years, we have been contributing RM100 million a year. But with the results we have achieved over and above our expectations, we have decided to contribute RM1 billion a year," he said. The fund is used to conserve and restore what is considered as national heritage.

Sime's Q1 net surges 64pc to RM1.07b

Net profit leaped to RM1.07 billion in the quarter ended September 30 against RM654.7 million in the same period last year, mainly thanks to higher crude palm oil prices

Read more: Sime's Q1 net surges 64pc to RM1.07b http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20111126002034/Article/#ixzz1epCe4u5T

Kuala Lumpur: Sime Darby Bhd, the world's biggest publicly-traded palm oil producer, registered a 64 per cent jump in its first-quarter net profit, mainly thanks to higher crude palm oil (CPO) prices as well as demand for its heavy equipment. Net profit leaped to RM1.07 billion in the quarter ended September 30 against RM654.7 million in the same period last year. Revenue increased by 28 per cent to RM11.1 billion. Sime Darby expects a lower net profit for the year ending June 30 2012, due mainly to possible softening of CPO prices. In its target headline key performance indicators (KPIs) for the current financial year, it expects net profit to be around RM3.3 billion. Based on analysts' earnings estimates by Bloomberg, Sime Darby is expected to post a net profit of about RM3.8 billion for the full year, an increase of 3.8 per cent against RM3.66 billion posted during the 2011 financial year. Sime Darby said the KPIs were also based on the assumption that CPO prices would be slightly below the RM2,800 level."When we talk about forecasting, it is always better to be conservative ... In our business, weather plays a key role in determining the prices of commodities. "Nevertheless, we have more than seven months to go. We will be happy if the price stayed above RM3,000 a tonne. It's a bonus," said president and group chief executive Datuk Mohd Bakke Salleh. During the quarter, the average CPO prices were at RM2,946 per tonne, against RM2,511 per tonne in the same quarter last year. There was also an increase of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) by over eight per cent. Sime Darby's industrial segment posted an operating pro-fit of RM330 million in the first quarter, up 42 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by its strong mining business in Australia. The Malaysian operations were supported by its construction and logging businesses. The group's property and automotive segments' operating profits grew three per cent and 2 per cent to RM60.5 million and RM154.7 million respectively. Operating profit from its energy and utility unit fell six per cent to RM47.3 million, due partly to power plant downtime in Thailand. Its healthcare and other units' operating profit registered 38 per cent growth to RM11.9 million, partly due to higher profit contribution from its investment in Tesco.

Airport tax saga continues

AirAsia Bhd has backtracked on an earlier statement which stressed it will not adhere to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB)’s recent airport tax hike.

Read more: Airport tax saga continues http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20111124233404/Article/#ixzz1ee0vVQk4

A post on its official Facebook fan page late yesterday morning said AirAsia would not adhere to the increase in airport tax, which will be implemented on November 25 2011. The statement was even tweeted out to its followers on social network Twitter. The post was in reference to MAHB's plans to increase airport tax for international passengers at the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) to RM32 from RM25 previously. A check on AirAsia's Facebook fan page later in the afternoon, however, showed that the post had been changed to read that the airline will continue to lobby for no hike in airport tax at the LCCT, with the public's support. "Look at the queue at the immigration, space for check-in counters, quality of toilets, cleanliness of the facilities and#8211; is it really worth the increase?" AirAsia's head of commercial Jasmine Lee asked in the post. Not adhering to the airport tax hike at this stage, when it has been approved by the Government,would mean that AirAsia needs to apply to the Ministry of Transport to stop collecting airport tax on behalf of airport operator MAHB. AirAsia's Tan Sri Tony Fernandes did not respond to SMSes on the matter. It is unclear if the post was the work of an overzealous employee or part of an initiative by AirAsia in its fight against the hike. Fernandes has publicly criticised both MAHB and the Ministry of Transport for the increase. Last week, AirAsia's co-founder took to twitter to vent his frustration.

Market closed higher again today

Market Update 25-8-2011