Gas Malaysia’s stocks rise on better Q1 performance

KUALA LUMPUR: Gas Malaysia Bhd’s shares were traded higher in the early morning trading session on Friday following its positive first quarter of 2022 (Q1 2022) results.

At 10.55 am, the company shares rose six sen to RM2.81 with 596,800 shares transacted.

The company posted a higher net profit of RM91.32 million in Q1 ended March 31, 2022, compared to RM55.63 million in Q1 2021, due to higher gross profit, lower administrative expenses and higher contributions from its joint venture companies.

Revenue for the quarter also rose to RM1.78 billion from RM1.15 billion previously, in line with the higher average natural gas selling price which mitigated the impact of the lower volume of natural gas sold in Q1 2022.

In a note, MIDF Research said the company is expected to continue performing well and remain resilient despite the volatile hydrocarbon prices.

“As expected, the war in Europe and the sanction against Russia’s gas led to a jump in gas prices in Q1 2022.

“We reiterate our view that hydrocarbon prices will remain high in the near term, albeit with increasing volatility amidst the uncertainty due to the Ukraine war, the ongoing pandemic and decreasing global natural gas inventory,“ it said.

The research firm maintained its ‘buy’ call for Gas Malaysia, with a revised target price of RM3.46.-Bernama