The Sarawak-based industrialised building systems specialist pared its losses by the mid-day break to end 19.33% or 23 sen lower at 96 sen, valuing it at RM614.63 million.

It was the most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia with 165.64 million shares changing hands.

In a statement this morning, the exchange said the intraday short selling (IDSS) facility will only be activated at 8.30am tomorrow.

It was not clear why the stock tumbled today but it has been on a tear in recent months.

Since October 2023, the counter has risen as much as 161% to a high of RM1.19 yesterday, its highest since June 2021. Over the past one year, the stock has risen by about 610%, even after today’s setback.

During the middle of last year, SCIB saw a number of boardroom changes which included the appointment of Abang Abdillah Izzarim Abang Zohari, the son of Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg, as executive chairman.

However, in a surprise move, he “retired” from the board just six months later on Dec 11, and was succeeded by Zaini Jass.

Early last month, Bursa Securities reprimanded SCIB and its former non-executive chairman Abdul Karim Abdullah and former managing director Rosland Othman for failing to submit the group’s 2021 annual report within the approved timeframe.

SCIB said the subsequent departure of the two directors had paved the way for the appointment of new board members who bring with them a “reinforced focus on governance, compliance and operational integrity”.

SCIB posted a net profit of RM926,000 for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (Q1 FY2024) from a net loss of RM871,000 a year ago. Quarterly revenue rose 29.91% to RM39.4 million from RM30.33 million last year.