MPHB at 52-wk high, soccer betting eyed

http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/162359-mphb-at-52-wk-high-soccer-betting-eyed.html

Written by Joseph Chin

Thursday, 25 March 2010 15:48

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of MULTI-PURPOSE HOLDINGS BHD [] (MPHB) surged to a 52-week high of RM2.13 in intra-day trade on Thursday, March 25 on market talk its unit will benefit if soccer betting is legalised. At 3.31pm, it was up 19 sen to RM2.11 with 13 million shares done while MPHB-CA added eight sen to 27 sen with 16 million units done. Traders said the surge in the prices were due to speculation that MPHB's unit Magnum could benefit if the government allows soccer betting. They added the company had also reported strong earnings in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 with net profit at RM114.23 million while for the financial year ended, net profit was RM337.38 million. Its net asset per share was RM2.03. MPHB is trading at price-to-earnings of 5.64 times at the previous days' closing price of RM1.92 while the average sector PE is 24.69 times. Close 2.24, +32sen