KUALA LUMPUR: MMC Corp Bhd, which recently listed its power unit Malakoff Corp Bhd, is mulling plans to list its ports and logistics business, said group managing director Datuk Seri Che Khalid Mohamad Noh.
“We’ll look into it, I think we are just like any conglomerate, if we see good value for us to look into ports listing, we’ll consider it,” he told reporters after the company’s AGM here yesterday. He, however, said the MMC board has yet to make a decision on the listing plan.
MMC’s ports and logistics division includes Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Johor Port. Last November, it also acquired a 15.73% stake in NCB Holdings Bhd, which operates the north and south ports in Port Klang.
Last year, the ports and logistics business registered RM254 million in profit before zakat and tax, a slight drop compared with RM265.2 million in 2013, due to more extensive repairs and maintenance activities as well as expansion works at the ports. Meanwhile, Che Khalid believes that MMC could add value to NCB after having emerged as the second largest shareholder of NCB.
“We own a few ports, Johor Port, PTP and now the second substantial shareholder in Northport. What we believe is that if all these three ports can collaborate, then we can optimise the value in terms of procurement, staff and expertise,” he added.
On a separate note, Che Khalid said he is confident that MMC’s 51%-owned Malakoff Corp has strong fundamentals despite the persistent selling pressure in Malakoff shares since its recent listing. “Nothing has changed in terms of valuation for Malakoff. Basically it’s a stable company being the largest IPP (independent power producer) in Malaysia and Southeast Asia,” he stressed.
Malakoff’s share price has dropped 3.89% compared with its initial public offering’s (IPO) price of RM1.80 even after a few stabilising bids by Maybank Investment Bank Bhd to acquire Malakoff shares following its lukewarm debut.
Nevertheless, Che Khalid noted that the spin-off of Malakoff has substantially brought down MMC’s gearing level to 0.5 times from 3.2 times. “We took away RM18 billion debt (from MMC) through the listing of Malakoff, so we’re debt-light now and we’ll be looking at new opportunities,” he said when asked of ways to bring down the gearing level.
MMC’s net profit more than doubled to RM492.93 million in FY14 compared with RM223.52 million it made in FY13. For the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015, Che Khalid expects the group to maintain its financial performance.
On the engineering and construction division, he said MMC could put a competitive bid for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line 2 project given its past track record and expertise in underground construction. The MRT line 2, which links Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya, is now open for public inspection. MMC and Gamuda Bhd were appointed as project delivery partner for both MRT lines 1 and 2.
