KUALA LUMPUR: Hiap Teck Venture Bhd's earnings prospects remain bright, supported by the pending rollout of mega infrastructure projects and robust private sector job flows in Malaysia, said Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB).
The bank said rising capacity utilisation at joint venture Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd's (ESSB) new blast furnace will also help the company's prospects, which boosts its contribution to Hiap Teck's bottomline.
Moreover, it said weak demand sentiment for steel products in China may have bottomed, thus helping to boost the company's prospects.
Hiap Teck's third quarter (Q3) financial year 2024's (FY24) core net profit of RM46.2 million took nine months to bring FY24's total to RM78.6 million.
HLIB said the results surpassed its expectations, accounting for 91.7 percent of the firm's full-year estimate, due mainly to the better-than-expected JV contribution (ESSB).
"Maintain earnings forecasts for now (with upside bias), pending updates from management, as well as a buy rating with an unchanged target price of 52 sen," it added.