KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- The intraday short selling (IDSS) of Dialog Group Bhd was suspended Friday after its quarterly loss dragged shares down to over 15 per cent.
The IDSS will be resumed on Monday, Feb 17, at 8.30 am, according to a Bursa Malaysia announcement today.
The counter, which topped the loser lists, opened at RM1.60, or 21 sen weaker, and moved as low as RM1.46, sinking 35 sen, or 19.34 per cent.
Dialog reported its first quarterly net loss in 25 years of RM129.49 million in its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (2Q FY2025), due to one-off impairment of investments amounting to RM134.72 million and project cost overrun in its engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning segment.
For the first six months of the financial year, the group recorded a net profit of RM21.46 million on the back of revenue of RM1.31 billion.
MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd said Dialog’s first-half earnings came in below 22 per cent of its and 23 per cent of consensus’s yearly forecast for FY2025.
Therefore, it downgraded a “buy” call on Dialog to “neutral” and revised the target price to RM1.90 from RM2.72 as it rolled over to the FY2026 valuation.
The investment bank opined that the target price was fair, given the drag in the downstream and the uncertainties on the forex (foreign exchange) trajectory in FY2025.
“Despite the downgrades, we remain positive on Dialog’s long-term ventures, notably in the upstream segment.
“However, it should be noted that the upstream will take a longer time to be consolidated into Dialog’s earnings, hence adding to the near-term risks,” it said in a note.
However, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd still maintained a “buy” call on Dialog, believing that “post-kitchen sinking exercise, the worst is over for Dialog, with earnings set to normalise in the coming quarters.”
“We like 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 Phase 3 with approximately 202.34 hectares available for future development,” it said in a separate note.
It lowered the Dialog sum-of-parts-based derived target price to RM2.91 from RM3.12.
-- BERNAMA
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