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The Star Online: Business

Telcos decline, broader market cautious
United sees Boeing 787 grounded through March 30
BHP Billiton CEO Kloppers retires as profits plunge

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 07:21 PM PST

Published: Wednesday February 20, 2013 MYT 11:21:00 AM

KUALA LUMPUR: Telcos fell in late morning trade on Wednesday, in line with the overall cautious market sentiment, with Telekom Malaysia and DiGi.com among the bigger decliners.

At 11.06am, the FBM KLCI was down 4.22 points to 1,610.85. Turnover was 490.32 million shares valued at RM500mil. There were 169 gainers, 273 losers and 236 counters unchanged.

TM fell to a low of RM5.14, down eight sen while DiGi gave up seven sen to RM4.63.

Maxis shed three sen to RM6.33, off the low of RM6.31. Axiata was down two sen to RM6.21, but off the early low of RM6.19.

The telcos were firm favourites among foreign funds in recent months as they sought high yield dividend stocks but concerns about the general elections saw some funds taking profit.

TM's 52-week high was RM6.40 and its low was RM4.57 while for DiGi it was RM5.48 and RM3.76. As for Maxis, the high was RM7.10 and low RM5.77 and for Axiata, it was RM6.87 and RM4.98.

As for Axiata, RHB Research Institute said it was maintaining its Neutral call on with an unchanged sum-of-parts fair value of RM6.50.

It remained concerned over Axiata's Indonesia operations via XL, whose aggressive capital expenditure ambitions which had yet to produce the desired returns from data.

"Hence, we believe earnings growth for XL remains challenging and therefore, growth for Axiata will likely moderate in 2013," it said on Wednesday.

United sees Boeing 787 grounded through March 30

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 06:33 PM PST

WASHINGTON: United Airlines said Tuesday it expected to keep its Boeing 787s out of service through March 30, a fresh sign of how long the aircraft could remain grounded worldwide to fix a battery problem.

United, the only US airline that operates Boeing's cutting-edge aircraft, said it was scheduling alternate planes through March 30 while its seven 787 Dreamliners remained grounded.

"We are further adjusting our published flight schedules to show alternate aircraft in place of our six Boeing 787s through March 30," Christen David, a spokeswoman for United, said in an email.

"We will make further adjustments in the future as we gain more visibility on the question of when service will be restored," she said.

All 50 787s in service around the world have been banned from flight since mid-January after battery smoke forced an emergency landing of one and a battery fire occurred on another.

US and foreign investigators have reported progress in the probe of the lithium-ion batteries but have yet to pinpoint the cause of the problems.

Boeing reportedly is looking for a temporary fix for the batteries, according to the Seattle Times, a daily that covers a region including a major Boeing plant.

The aerospace giant may encase the battery cells in a titanium or steel box fitted with a high-pressure vent to contain any fire that erupts in flight, the newspaper reported Monday, citing people familiar with the plan.

Even if the FAA agrees to the interim solution, it would take at least three months to design, test, certify and retrofit the planes, a source told the newspaper.

The US Federal Aviation Authority refused to comment on the report, while Boeing said the report was speculative and contained unspecified errors.

The Dreamliner, a long-haul fuel-efficient airliner built largely with composite materials, is key to Boeing's business strategy as it battles against European rival Airbus.

On January 16, the 50 Dreamliners in service around the world were grounded after a battery fire on a Japan Airlines plane parked in Boston, and battery smoke on an All Nippon Airways flight forced an emergency landing.

On Tuesday, a Japanese safety board official said that investigators found a battery on the ANA flight that initially was believed to be intact had also been damaged.

Detailed examination of the auxiliary power unit battery revealed that two of its eight cells were misshapen.

Boeing has suspended deliveries of the aircraft but continues to build them at a rate of five per month.

Airbus said last week it will switch from lithium-ion batteries to cadmium batteries for its new A350 long-range aircraft, due to enter service in the second half of 2014. - AFP

BHP Billiton CEO Kloppers retires as profits plunge

Posted: 19 Feb 2013 06:29 PM PST

SYDNEY: Marius Kloppers is stepping down as BHP Billiton's chief executive officer on May 10, the world's biggest miner said in a surprise announcement Wednesday, as half-year profits plunged by 58 percent.

He will be replaced by Andrew Mackenzie, the 56-year-old current chief executive of BHP's non-ferrous business at the global mining giant.

First-half profits dropped to $4.2 billion on lower and volatile commodity prices. Underlying earnings - which exclude one-off writedowns - dropped 43 percent to $5.7 billion in line with analysts' expectations.

The result for the six months to December 31 saw revenues fall 14 percent to $32 billion, BHP said in a statement, declaring an interim dividend of 57 cents a share, up four percent from a year ago.

BHP described the results as "solid" in a challenging half-year for the global resources industry.

"Substantially lower commodity prices and resilient producer currencies, such as the Australian dollar and the Chilean peso, weighed on margins and profitability," it said.

"In the short term, we expect a general improvement in the global economy to support demand and prices for a number of commodities.

However, the addition of low cost supply in many markets is expected to dampen the pricing upside."

BHP Billiton reported net operating cash flows of $6.4 billion and said it remained "on track to deliver strong growth at a lower unit cost".

But it was the departure of South African Kloppers, who been running the miner since October 2007, steering it through the global financial crisis, that drew the most attention.

Last month he warned that China's steel surge had peaked and iron ore and steel growth was likely to decline, meaning the record commodity prices seen over the past decade would not be sustained.

Chairman Jac Nasser paid tribute to Kloppers who "drove new investments into next generation opportunities including US onshore gas and liquids and created one of the most valuable companies in the world.

"He leaves BHP Billiton a safer and stronger company," Nasser said.

BHP Billiton had previously said it was always thinking about succession planning but gave no timeframe amid market expectation the process would take a year or two.

Mackenzie, has more than 30 years' experience in oil and gas, petrochemicals and minerals and joined BHP Billiton in November 2008, the company said in a statement.

"The board has decided that Andrew is the right person to lead BHP Billiton in a changing global environment," Nasser said.

Mackenzie said: "It is a privilege to be asked to lead one of Australia's great companies and the world's leading diversified natural resources company.

The outgoing Kloppers, who will leave the company on October 1, said: "Deciding the right time to retire was never going to be easy," but that it was the right time to "pass the leadership baton".

Mackenzie will be based at the company's headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. - AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Selasa, 19 Februari 2013