Buy stocks with low price-to-book ratio

A fortnight ago, we elaborated on four of the seven criteria used in stock selection. In this week's article, we continue with the remaining three criteria: B for Book Value, H for Health and M for Management. THE book value of a company is an important indicator of a company’s value as it tells us what the owner’s cost of a company is. No owner would be willing to sell a healthy and growing company at below cost unless the company has problems that are not known by general public. Normally, we use book value per share (total shareholders’ funds...

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Government may relax cement prices too

PETALING JAYA: The cement industry may see some major price adjustments following the liberalisation of the steel industry on May 12. Most players in the cement industry have voiced their concerns via the Cement & Concrete Association of Malaysia (CCAM), saying a price adjustment was necessary to combat the rising cost of raw materials and fuel. CCAM had proposed an automatic price mechanism (APM) for the cement industry. The Government is...

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Fuel subsidy revamp on the cards

The rising costs of fuel have put more pressure on the Government to come up with a fair and efficient solution to ease the burden of the rakyat and relieve the strain on its coffers. ALL eyes are on the Government's struggle to find a more equitable and efficient solution to the prickly issue of fuel subsidies. This year's fuel subsidy is expected to hit a whopping RM45bil – even higher than the annual allocation of RM40bil under the Ninth Malaysia...

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Many e-commerce tools readily available for SMEs to boost profits

KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can create an online presence and boost profits – without spending a sen. Industry professionals said the expansion of businesses into e-commerce could be achieved by using available free products such as those from Google and eBay. Chiica Consultations education specialist Chris Chan said SMEs need to change their perception and realise it is now the time to take their business online. “We need to...

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KL the wireless online metropolitan

WITH the launch of the Kuala Lumpur wireless metropolitan project at the City Hall headquarters yesterday, the entire capital city will be covered by a wireless broadband access network in the near future. This means that if you are in KL, you will not need to patronise certain cafes or pay for Internet services to go wireless. Everyone in the city will be able to use the service, which runs at 512kb per second, for free over the next two years. The service is based on WiMAX 2.3 Giga Hertz. Kuala Lumpur is among one of the first cities in the world...

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Earnings Per Share (EPS)

The portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. EPS serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.Calculated as:In the EPS calculation, it is more accurate to use a weighted average number of shares outstanding over the reporting term, because the number of shares outstanding can change over time. However, data sources sometimes simplify the calculation by using the...

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SMEs: Create online presence without spending a sen

KUALA LUMPUR: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can create an online presence and boost profits without spending a sen. Industry professionals said businesses could expand into e-commerce by using available free products such as those from Google and eBay. Chiica Consultations education specialist Chris Chan said SMEs needed to change their perception and realise it was now the time to take their business online. "We need to convince people to take the first step. There are too many people who say 'I can't do it'," she said. Xtrain CEO...

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Plantation REIT profit more than doubles in Q1

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's only plantation real estate investment trust, Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT, yesterday reported a 111% jump in its net profit to RM16.7mil for the first quarter ended March 31. In comparison, it recorded net profit of RM7.9mil in the previous corresponding period, Boustead REIT Managers Sdn Bhd said in a statement. With CPO prices averaging at RM3,020 per tonne for the quarter under review, the fund had surpassed its reference...

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Malaysia’s March exports up 5.3% to RM51.57bil

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s exports in March rose 5.3% to RM51.57bil from a year ago, making its the highest export value recorded for the month of March. According to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) on Tuesday, major product sectors which contributed to the higher exports were palm oil, crude petroleum, refined petroleum products, metal products and liquefied natural gas. Electrical and electronic products accounted for RM17.53bil or 33.6% of total exports, palm oil exports (M4.69bil or 9.1%)and crude petroleum...

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Industronics seeks extension to submit audited accountsKUALA LUMPUR: Industronics Bhd is seeking a one-month extension from Bursa Malaysia Securitie

KUALA LUMPUR: Industronics Bhd is seeking a one-month extension from Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd to submit its audited financial statements for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2007 which was due on or before April 30. In a statement to Bursa Malaysia Tuesday, the company said it was not able to submit the statements as the external audit was still ongoing due to transaction testing procedures. “The company is working closely with the auditors to finalise the audit expeditiously,” it said. Industronics said it expected to submit its audited...

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