Moving forward, SLP will be targeting to bring its utilisation rate back to pre-Covid-19 levels, which is at around 75.0%. Local sales growth will be backed by the recovery in economic activities as the country entered into the endemic phase, while the Japanese market will be boosted by the upgrade of economic growth to +3.2% YoY (from +2.2% YoY) in 2022.

We gather that plants utilisation rate has recovered as production activity resume uninterrupted. Moving forward, we expect utilisation rate to hover at current levels for FY23f. We were also guided that ASP trend appears to have stabilised, which we expect current prices that is above pre-pandemic level to hold throughout FY23f.

SDS Group Bhd (SDS) is primarily involved in production and distribution of bakery products, which include bread, buns, rolls, and cakes, alongside with operating of F&B outlets. The products are marketed under its trademarked brands of “Top Baker” and “Daily’s”.

The FBM KLCI bucked the downtrend in the regional markets, following the three straight session of decline, mainly powered by bargain hunting in telecommunication and selected banking heavyweights. We foresee investors to continue to buy the dip ahead of the earnings season, but overall market sentiment may be tested by concerns over (i) impact of Cukai Makmur, (ii) mixed performances on Wall Street overnight, and (iii) the upcoming BNM’s interest rate decision.

We gather that the aforementioned contract is the third major construction contract secured by Econpile for FY22f. Current orderbook replenishment now stands at RM155.4m, makes up to 77.7% of our expectations of RM200.0m for FY22f. Although the figure is still not within reach with only approximately 2 months left before the end of FY22f, we believe the jobs acceleration will materialise moving into 2H22 in line with the economic recovery.

The FBM KLCI extended Friday’s decline amid widespread sell-off. In view of the tightening monetary policy in the US going forward and the Covid-19 restrictions in China, investors may remain cautious over the near term; selling pressure could continue on the regional stock exchanges as well as on the local front. Closer to home, investors will be monitoring on the Bank Negara’s interest rate decision and statements on the economic growth outlook scheduled on Wednesday.

Lii Hen Industries Bhd (LIIHEN) is one of the leading furniture manufacturers in Malaysia in UV Robotic finishing product to Solid Dinettes. The group’s factory and showrooms that has 3.1m sqf of built-up area is located at Muar, Johor and their products are mainly sold to the overseas market (95% to North America, 4% local and 1% in other markets across the globe).

The FBM KLCI plummeted on Friday in tandem with regional peers on the back of bearish global sentiment following a sharp decline on Wall Street and the net outflow of foreign funds. As the US stocks suffered another selloff, we expect the local bourse to follow suit, especially within the technology sector. Nevertheless, there might be bargain hunting activities ahead of the earnings season especially in the recovery-themed sectors as well as REITs.