KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC) shares surged to their highest level in six months after securing a RM1.1 billion service contract from the Defence Ministry.

The stock climbed nearly 23 per cent, or 11 sen, to 59 sen within three minutes of the market opening.

By 11.05am, it was trading at 53.5 sen, up 5.5 sen, with 1.2 million shares changing hands.

Yesterday, BHIC announced it had won a performance-based in-service support contract for the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Prime Minister-class submarines.

The defence contractor stated that its wholly-owned subsidiary, BHIC Submarine Engineering Services Sdn Bhd (BSES), had accepted a letter of award from the Ministry of Defence.

"A formal contract between the Government of Malaysia and BSES will be finalised and executed at a later date,” BHIC said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

BHIC added that the contract will positively contribute to the group’s earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024. — Bernama