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KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): National carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd has recently kicked off its RM253 million expansion project, adding new stamping facilities in Tanjong Malim, which will be known as Stamping E and F-Line. In a statement on Friday, Proton said the project will increase the volume of parts stamping at Proton Tanjong Malim, as the company prepares to relocate production of the Proton Saga from Shah Alam by 2026. The expansion is also expected to accommodate growing overall production volumes and any new models to be introduced in the near future. “This is the second planned expansion to Proton’s parts stamping capabilities in recent years, after the inauguration of the D-Line stamping plant on March 14, 2023 by the Menteri Besar of Perak Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad,” the company said. “For the whole of 2023 and up to June 2024, our Tanjong Malim plant has stamped out 6.067 million components, of which 395,211 are from the new D-Line. This number will grow exponentially when production of the Proton Saga is relocated here in 2026,” he said. The new E-Line will feature a four-stage stamping process with a 1,600-tonne stamping machine and three 800-tonne machines, while the F-Line will have a five-stage stamping process, utilising a 2,000-tonne, 1,200-tonne, and three 1,000-tonne stamping force machines. In addition to the stamping machines, Proton said robots will be used to transfer parts between workstations, while IR 4.0 technology will be implemented using real-time data and machine learning to improve the quality of parts produced. Source: Bernama

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Phillip Capital has maintained its “buy” rating on Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd (KL: KERJAYA) at RM2.03 with a higher target price of RM2.60 (from RM2) and said it expects continued robust contract replenishment from E&O and Kerjaya Prospek Property Bhd (KPPROP); actively bidding for RM3 billion worth of data centre (DC) and semiconductor related jobs. In a note on Friday, the research house said Kerjaya’s current outstanding order book stands at RM4.7 billion, after securing RM979 million new contract wins year-to-date, which represents 65% of our RM1.5 billion replenishment target for 2024. All projects secured thus far have been awarded by E&O and KPPROP. “We expect an increase in property revenue contributions in the coming quarters, driven by projects such as The Vue (GDV: RM300 million) and Papyrus (GDV: RM500 million). “The property division is estimated to contribute 10–12% of the group’s total revenue across 2024-26E (from 2% in 2023),” it said. “We reiterate our buy rating but lift our SOP-derived target price to RM2.60 (from RM2.00) after raising our construction segment PE multiple to 18x (from 14x) or +1SD construction sector 10-year mean, which is justified by its strong tender book pipeline. “Key downside risks include lower-than-expected order book replenishment, and project margin deterioration,” it said. Source: Surin Murugiah / theedgemalaysia.com