ANALYSTS REMAIN BULLISH ON DIALOG, KEEPING IT AT 'BUY'

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd has maintained its “buy” call for Dialog Group Bhd, with an unchanged target price of RM3, forecasting the group’s performance for financial year 2025 to remain stable, driven by sustained contributions from the upstream and midstream segments.

The research house noted that Dialog's first quarter of financial year 2025 (1Q2025) core net profit of RM160 million was in line with its expectations and consensus, at 25.4 per cent and 24.4 per cent full-year FY2025 earnings projections, respectively.

Additionally, it said downstream earnings are expected to rise further as the construction of the Langsat 3 storage facilities progresses.

Hong Leong Investment Bank adjusted Dialog's financial year 2025 and 2026 forecasts by 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, after imputing financial year 2024 annual report updates. "We also introduce the financial year 2027 earnings at RM691 million," it said.

This followed, Dialog's 1Q2025 core earnings of RM160.0 million, which matched its (24 per cent) and consensus (24 per cent) expectations.

The investment bank said it is keen on Dialog for its recurring income business model and its unique position in riding the future expansion of Pengerang via the development of tank terminals.

"We look forward to the group securing new long term dedicated storage tank terminal contracts for its Pengerang Deepwater Terminals (PDT) Phase 3 with approximately 202.3 hectares available for future development," it said.

Hence, the bank maintains a buy call on Dialog with a higher target price of RM3.12 (previously RM3.04).

At 9.30 am, Dialog's share price added five sen to RM2.04, with 4.3 million shares traded.

--BERNAMA