Dialog Group: Dialog Group Shares Rise After Higher Quarterly Profit

By Ying Xian Wong Dialog Group shares rose Tuesday morning after reporting higher quarterly profit. Shares of the Malaysian energy-services provider jumped as much as 8.6% and were... By Ying Xian Wong Dialog Group shares rose Tuesday morning after reporting higher quarterly profit. Shares of the Malaysian energy-services provider jumped as much as 8.6% and were recently 8.1% higher at 2.01 ringgit, trimming 12-month losses to 18%. Dialog said late Monday that its fiscal second-quarter net profit rose to MYR148.3 million ($31 million) from MYR127.2 million a year ago, mainly driven by higher production from Malaysia upstream activities as well as an improved business environment for its international operations. Quarterly revenue rose 7.8% to MYR859.2 million. Citi said the recovery in Dialog's downstream operations may sustain the company's earnings momentum in the rest of fiscal 2024. Further, Citi analyst Lester Siew said Dialog's share-price overhang due to its exclusion from Malaysia's benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index and the MSCI Malaysia Index may dissipate going forward. Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Bank expects the development of Malaysia's Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex to be a key catalyst for Dialog's long-term growth. Foreign investment into the massive Pengerang project in Malaysia's Johor state should benefit Dialog as a service provider in the energy sector, Maybank analyst Jeremie Yap said in a note. Both Citi and Maybank retained buy ratings on Dialog. Write to Ying Xian Wong at yingxian.wong@wsj.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 02-19-24 2113ET