my LifeTalk- Been busy with work lately especially on Wap Portal stuff and Blackberry Bold launch.
- Plan to go swimming later evening.
- Watching Death Race movie tomorrow.
- Resorts on the jump due to nett profit report! Woola!
TMI second quarter income down to RM366mil
- TM International Bhd’s (TMI) net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 fell 37.7% to RM366mil from RM588mil a year earlier, despite a RM556mil, or 23.4%, rise in revenue. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, TMI said its pre-tax profit declined to RM575mil from RM750.5mil and earnings per share (EPS) fell to 10 sen from 16 sen before.
For the first half, net profit slumped 17.7% to RM769mil from RM933.5mil while EPS declined to 21 sen from 26 sen. However, revenue for the period jumped 20.6% to RM5.65bil from RM4.68bil. “The appreciation of the ringgit against our respective subsidiaries’ reporting currency has, however, unfavourably affected the group’s translated revenue in ringgit by approximately 3.7%,” TMI said in the notes accompanying its financial results.
It added that other operating cost increased by 27%, primarily due to macroeconomic conditions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Indonesia, which witnessed high double-digit inflation, had direct and indirect impact on its total costs. “Profit after tax and minority interest (PATAMI) reported in the current quarter had been adversely affected by the lower profit from associate and jointly controlled entities from RM26.8mil recorded in the second quarter ended June 30, 2007 to RM18.2mil,” TMI said.
In a media briefing yesterday, president and group chief executive officer Datuk Jamaludin Ibrahim said the previous quarter had been very challenging for the group given the current economy backdrop and increased competition. “The lower PATAMI was due to one-off gains from a disposal of Dialog Group shares worth RM194mil and dilution of shares in Spice Communications Ltd of RM18mil which were included in our second quarter 2007,” he said.
Jamaludin said for the first time, the second quarter reviewed recognised a RM44mil interest cost arising from a Telekom Malaysia Bhd loan post the demerger. On a normalised basis, PATAMI improved by 9% to RM411mil. “Our first half revenue growth of 21% was mainly from PT Excelmindo Pratama Tbk (XL), Celcom (M) Bhd and Dialog Telekom in Sri Lanka,” Jamaludin said, adding that the growth was driven by higher subscriber additions and usage.
“The recovery of Celcom’s postpaid as well as increased demand for mobile broadband services led to continuous revenue growth,” he said. For the second quarter ended June 30, Celcom posted a net profit of RM321mil on revenue of RM1.4bil.
During the quarter, TMI managed to increased its total mobile customers to over 50 million, a 57% increase from 31.9 million inthe previous corresponding period.
Jamaludin said its regional assets outside Malaysia contributed 53% to the TMI’s revenue in the first six months compared with 48% a year ago. He said the strong momentum built by XL and Celcom should be favourable for the group going forward.
TMI executive director and group chief financial officer Datuk Yusof Annuar Yaacob said TMI had yet to determine the size or the price of the shares of XL that it intended to place out. “It is an on-going process. We do not know what is the size yet but its reasonably chunky. XL will be seeking shareholders’ approval on Sept 3,” he said.
Petronas Retains No 1 Position In Malaysian Brand League Table
- National oil corporation, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has retained its No. 1 position again in the Malaysian Brand League Table compiled by London-based independent brand and intangible asset valuation firm Brand Finance plc."Petronas has a brand value of RM8.3 billion.
The 'A-' rating indicates its brand strength," Brand Finance chief executive, David Haigh, told a media briefing on 'Most Valuable and Hardworking Malaysian Brand for 2008' here Friday.Haigh said Genting Bhd has emerged as the most highly-rated Malaysian brand, with an 'AA+' rating while its value has gone up close to 12 percent to RM4.17 billion, from RM3.73 billion previously.
"This year also marks Resort World Bhd's first entry into Malaysia's Top 10 Brand with a value of RM2.3 billion and ranked No 10 on the list," he said.He said Malaysian companies could do more to leverage on the value of their intangible assets and brands such as those involved in the palm oil industry which had vast opportunity to grow.
"Those involved in the palm oil industry should consider a long-term public relations activities to put additional brand value's proposition to this great commodity," he said.The Top Five rankings after Petronas are Genting Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd.
Brand Finance Consultant (Singapore) Pte Ltd managing director, Lucy Gwee, said Malaysia's top 50 brands had been valued at RM64.8 billion in 2007, a nine percent increase from RM59.1 billion a year before."The brand value for companies rose compared to the previous year, except for the banking industry due to sub-prime crisis and credit crunch that affected global financial market," she said.
Gwee said Malaysia's top 10 most valuable brands and brand portfolios were worth RM36.3 billion, representing approximately 56 percent of the total brand value of the top 50 Malaysia brands.She said Malaysian companies were still clearly undervaluing their tangible assets."If Malaysia wishes to compete effectively in the global economy it has to step up efforts to recognise and invest in intangible assets.
"It also has to equip companies with the management know-how and pertinent skill sets," she said.
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Quote: My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I'm right
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