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.
Mah Sing Group Bhd, a prominent property developer, reported a 19.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its net profit for the second quarter of 2024 (2QFY2024), reaching RM60.2 million compared to RM50.5 million a year earlier. This growth was attributed to higher margins and lower net finance costs, despite a decline in revenue. Key Takeaways: Sales and Earnings Performance : Mah Sing achieved RM1.66 billion in sales in the first eight months of 2024, putting it on track to meet its full-year sales target of at least RM2.5 billion. Earnings per share for 2QFY2024 rose to 2.37 sen from 2.08 sen in 2QFY2023. However, quarterly revenue fell by 10.2% y-o-y to RM578.4 million due to new sales from projects that are expected to generate significant revenue once construction progresses beyond the initial stages. Strong First-Half Results and Positive Outlook : For the first half of FY2024 (1HFY2024), net profit rose 19.6% to RM120.3 million, while revenue decreased by 11.7% to RM1.14 billion....