KUCHING: China’s Jujiang Power Technology Co Ltd (JJ) has completed the proposed subscription of a 40 per cent equity interest in Fuya Energy Sdn Bhd (FESB).
This follows the issuance and allotment of 48 million new FESB shares to JJ on Friday (Dec 27).
“The proposed share subscription has been completed in accordance with the conditional share subscription agreement (CSSA),” said ABM Fujiya Bhd (AFujiya) in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
Also, on Friday (Dec 27), AFujiya shareholders voted unanimously for the proposed share subscription in FESB by JJ at the company’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
FESB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amalgamated Batteries Manufacturing (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd (ABM), which is, in turn, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AFujiya.
The tripartite CSSA was signed between ABM, FESB, and JJ on October 23, 2024. Under the CSSA, JJ subscribed for 48 million new FESB shares at an issue price of RM1 each, totalling RM48 million. The share subscription was completed earlier than the original target of the second quarter of 2025.
The 48 million new FESB shares issued to JJ offset part of the existing cash advances of approximately RM56.38 million provided by JJ to FESB between 2019 and 2022.
“The cash advances were utilised by FESB to partially finance the (construction of a new battery) factory building and machinery. The machinery includes, among others, a continuous punching and pasting line, an automated battery formation system, an enveloping machine, positive and negative expander lines, a hole punch machine, a shear test machine, a container feeding machine, and an expander machine,” said AFujiya.
FESB’s principal activities involve the manufacturing and trading of batteries and accumulators.
JJ is a large-scale company engaged in researching, developing, manufacturing, and selling lead-acid starter batteries for vehicles. In recent years, JJ has also expanded its production to include lithium batteries.
FESB’s new battery plant in Demak Laut Industrial Estate has increased its production lines to four in the current quarter. Its products cater to both domestic and export markets.
The operations of the new plant boosted AFujiya Group’s revenue to RM43.63 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2024 (3Q2024), up from RM33.8 million in 3Q2023 and RM41 million in 2Q2024.
With improved economies of scale in production and increasing staff expertise in operating machinery at the new battery manufacturing plant, the group has achieved a gross profit at the group level, primarily due to a reduction in operational losses from the new plant.
“However, in 3Q2024, the group faced raw material shortages due to shipment delays and rising finance costs, resulting in a cumulative loss before tax of RM7.86 million for the January-September 2024 period,” said AFujiya.
AFujiya expects the new battery plant to gradually enhance the group’s overall performance moving forward.
In an unrelated corporate move, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd’s deputy managing director Joe Ling Siew Loung @ Lin Shou Long has continued reducing his shareholdings. His latest disposal involved 250,000 shares at RM2.0927 per share in the open market on Thursday (Dec 26). Two days earlier, he sold another 250,000 shares at RM2.0632 per share.
Ling also disposed of 250,000 shares each on December 11 and 12, 2024. His direct shareholding in Dayang has been reduced to 43,310,207 shares (3.74 per cent) from 45,810,207 shares (3.96 per cent) as of March 29, 2024. He retains an indirect interest of 102,697,950 shares (8.87 per cent) in Dayang.
Dayang shares closed at RM2.09 on Friday (Dec 27).
Dayang, involved in the maintenance of topside structures, hook-up and commissioning for steel structures, electrical and instrumentation services, and the chartering of marine vessels for the oil and gas industry, delivered a strong bottom line in 3Q2024. Group net profit surged to RM134.9 million (3Q2023: RM76.38 million) on higher revenue of RM448.5 million (3Q2023: RM343.76 million).
In 4Q2024, Dayang secured three major contracts for a primary period of five years, with an option to extend for another five years. The estimated call-out value of these contracts is approximately RM4 billion for the initial five years. The group currently holds estimated call-out contracts worth RM5.3 billion, ensuring earning visibility for the next five years.
