IJM Corp Bhd announced last week it received a letter of intent for a construction contract of RM840mil in Abu Dhabi in a joint venture with a little-known company also listed on Bursa Malaysia, LFE Corp Bhd.

LFE's share of the job through its 30:70 joint venture with IJM is substantial for the small company. Equally significant, it shows the recognition from IJM of LFE as a suitable contracting partner. It can be assumed that IJM would take on as a partner only someone that has a good track record in contracting in the Middle East.

Or rather, that recognition could be for Alan Rajendram who took over LFE, as well as Linear Corp Bhd, in 2006.

Rajendram, an accountant by training, also heads Stanton Technologies Sdn Bhd, which was approved for a listing on the Dubai Financial Exchange.

Both LFE and Linear have started to perform exceptionally well. LFE reported a net profit of RM5.6mil in its fourth quarter (Q4) ended Dec 31, 2007, mainly from the distribution of consumer electronics.

Linear produced a net profit of RM6.0mil or EPS of 8 sen for Q4 last year, with much of that from its solar panel division. It is not known if there is momentum in its earnings. If the Q4 earnings were maintained this year, it would make EPS of 32 sen, which is just below its share price of 33 sen on Friday. That would translate into a price/earnings ratio of 1 time.

The momentum of earnings for LFE and Linear remains to be seen, but Rajendram is becoming more conspicuous.