KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
CelcomDigi Bhd (KL), Malaysia’s largest mobile network operator by subscribers, and internet service provider Time dotCom Bhd may report weaker-than-expected results, CIMB Securities warned.
CelcomDigi Bhd:
- Earnings Forecast: Core net profit for CelcomDigi is projected to be RM470 million to RM490 million for the second quarter (2QFY2024), down 4-8% year-on-year.
- First-Half Performance: Core earnings for the first half may constitute 42-43% of the consensus full-year forecast.
- Dividends: Expected to be in line with market expectations at 3.5 sen per share.
- Service Revenue and Operating Profit: Service revenue likely remains flat due to the continued churn of one-time prepaid SIM cards from re-pricing in March. Operating profit may increase due to lower device and staff costs.
- Announcement Date: Results expected on Aug 19, with close rival Maxis Bhd (KL) announcing on Aug 21.
Time dotCom Bhd:
- Earnings Forecast: Core net profit may be RM97 million to RM103 million, reflecting up to 6% growth.
- First-Half Performance: Core earnings for the first half may track slightly behind at 44-45% of the consensus FY2024 forecast.
- Revenue Growth: Moderate growth in recurring revenue driven by enterprise, cloud, and retail broadband segments.
- Dividends: Unclear if the company will pay any dividend during the quarter or wait until year-end.
- Announcement Date: Results expected on Aug 26.
Telekom Malaysia Bhd:
- Earnings Forecast: May outperform market expectations due to lower operating expenditure and interest cost savings.
- Net Profit: Headline net profit may fall 24-28% year-on-year due to voluntary staff separation costs and previous positive tax credits. However, core net profit for the first half may be slightly ahead of consensus at 55-57% of the FY2024 forecast.
- Revenue: Likely stable, with growth at TM Global offset by declines at TM One and a flat Unifi business.
- Announcement Date: Results expected on Aug 28.
Maxis Bhd:
- Earnings Forecast: Core net profit could increase by 5-11% year-on-year to RM350 million to RM370 million.
- Dividends: Expected to declare a dividend of four sen per share.
- Service Revenue and Operating Profit: Service revenue likely flat quarter-on-quarter and up 3-5% year-on-year, with growth in postpaid mobile offset by flat to softer prepaid and Home revenue. Operating profit may edge higher by up to 2% quarter-on-quarter or as much as 6% year-on-year, mainly due to seasonally lower device costs.
These forecasts indicate varied performance among Malaysia's major telecommunications and internet service providers, with Telekom Malaysia potentially outperforming while CelcomDigi and Time dotCom may face challenges meeting expectations.
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