52-WEEK_june12



ACROSS THE BOARD, stocks have given up their gains for the year -- but most intriguingly, a bunch of stocks have just hit their 52-week highs!

According to our Bloomberg search, these stocks are sporting year-to-date gains that are sweet or, in some cases, heavenly. Four of them have hit 100% or so returns - Asiasons, Intraco, Sarin and Viz Branz.

Are you fortunate to have any of them? Here are some nuggets of information on them:

>> Asiasons Capital: It is an Alternative Asset Investment and Management group focused on private equity opportunities in emerging East Asia. It recently had a market capitalization of about S$352 million.

Its stock price had languished below the 20-cent level for at least three years until April this year. Then it rocketed up and has since clung to the 37-cent level. It drew a SGX query but nothing material came out of it. Any reader can offer some reasons for the spike up?

>> Brothers (Holdings): It is a Singapore investment holding company which listed way back in 1997. It has property development, investment and management businesses in China.

Its stock, which has been illiquid, ran up after a delisting offer at 26 cents was announced on May 30.

>> Frasers Centrepoint Trust: It is a developer-sponsored REIT with five suburban retail shopping malls in Singapore, including Anchorpoint, Causeway Point and Northpoint.

Its stock is up 17% year-to-date, probably as a result of investors seeking refuge in its decent dividend yield. It still offers a yield of about 6% per annum (see DPU trend below). 

Fraser_DPU_june12



>>Intraco: It has businesses in supplying lighting, seafood and plastic products and leasing, managing and operating telecommunications infrastructure.

oeihongleong
Oei Hong Leong. Photo: Internet

On May 30, the company’s controlling shareholder, Hanwell Holdings Limited,  entered into a sale and purchase agreement to sell its 29.89% stake for $18.28 million.

The purchaser is TH Investments Pte Ltd, which belongs to the controlling shareholder of Tat Hong Holdings, another SGX-listed company.

The transaction worked out to 62 cents per share, prompting the market to chase Intraco stock up to nearly 60 cents from the level of 30 cents or so that it has been stagnant at for the past four or five years.

In the latest news, last night Intraco said Oei Hong Leong, the billionaire investor, has become a substantial shareholder with a 21% stake through open market purchases of 6,780,000 shares at S$0.5003 per share and a married deal for 14,047,323 shares at S$0.50 per share.

What does he see in it? Intraco suffered a net loss of $7.1 million last year after ekeing out a pathetic $378,000 in net profit in FY10.

 


 

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Jaya's profit for 2012 will be lower than 2011 because of fewer vessel sales. Jaya cannot pay a dividend under a loan restructuring agreement. Photo: Company

>> Jaya Holdings: It is an Offshore Energy Services Group providing a wide range of services and solutions to the offshore oil and gas E&P domain.

Earlier this year, it was said to be the target of a takeover. However, the company denied it --- but the stock price has stayed resilient at the 55-cent level.

It is grossly undervalued relative to its assets. Read more about that in: KEVIN SCULLY: "The good, the bad and the possible regarding Jaya"

>> Popular Holdings: It is a publisher and operator of a retail network for books -- and has a property development arm.

Its stock has been relatively stable and has firmed up on significant buying of nearly 14 million shares by the executive chairman, Chou Cheng Ngok, since February this year.

It has a dividend yield of about 5%.

>> Sarin Technologies: Its business is one of a kind on the Singapore Exchange.

It is in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of precision technology products for the planning, processing, evaluation and measurement of diamonds and gems.

Sarin is enjoying strong profit growth. In FY2011, revenues rose 27% to US$57.8 million and net profit climbed a faster 56% to US$17.4 million.

Note the amazing 30% net margin, which strongly suggests a high barrier to entry into its business.

The stock has climbed steadily from around 60 cents at the start of the year to $1.18 recently.

>> Select Group: It is a F&B player which counts well-known brands in its stable, including Peach Garden and Stamford Catering.

For FY11, it achieve $3 million in net profit, a record high since its founding in 1991 and a turnaround from the $2 million net loss in the previous year.

Its dividend yield is 2.9% based on a 17-cent stock price. It stock is thinly traded and it has a market cap of just $24 million.

 


 

vizbranz_benchng
Viz Branz group MD Ben Chng has been an enthusiastic buyer of company shares.

>> Viz Branz: It manufactures and exports instant beverages, mixes, snack food and non-dairy creamer. Its most recognisable brand is Gold Roast.

The company reported net profit of $13.6 million for the 9 months to March 31, up 37% year on year.  This was on the back of a 7% increase in revenue to $134.2 million.

The results, coupled with strong buying by its MD, Ben Chng, have sent the stock shooting up from 33 cents at the start of the year to 55 cents currently.

In the past 12 months, Mr Chng has bought nearly 2.4 million shares, raising his direct stake to 50.89%.

Also fuelling the stock price movement is speculation of a takeover, given that Mr Chng has had some legal tussle with his father, Chng Khoon Peng, an executive director and a founder of the company who stepped down as executive chairman down in 2010. (This is reminiscent of the tussle at Hiap Hoe Limited currently).

The elder Chng has even lodged a complaint against his son to the Commercial Affairs Department over a matter.

At 16X historical PE, Viz Branz stock now doesn't look cheap, does it?

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Comments  

#8 Edmund 2012-06-09 10:46
No la..ooi hong leong is better off tell the whole world that he is buying intraco,then everyone buys thinking it is a good buy pushing the price up..then he cash out..tell me who will be the winner?
#7 Kit 2012-06-09 08:47
If one look closely at Intraco's businesses, there is no synergy among the type of business they are doing. Only hit and run along the way, trying to make ends meet. According to The Edge, the type of businesses Intraco venture into are: (1) Sell frozen fish to the United States [Will Americans go for frozen fish?]; (2) Supply lights to HDB flats [where is the value for doing this?]; (3) Provide telecom services to the Northeast MRT line [one time affair?]; and (4) Selling plastics, iron ore and coal to China [some kind of middleman's game?]. Intraco also owns 29.9% stake in Dynamic Colors, a Suzhou-based manufacturer of dyes and plastics packaging material. As Intraco has cash holdings of 42 cents a share, Ooi Hong Leong probably want to be part of the game and a beneficiary of any asset stripping if there is a tussle for control.
#6 Kit 2012-06-07 15:58
So, it is Hanwell (formerly know as PSC Corporation) dispose of all its holdings in Intraco to TH Investments at 62 cents a share. No news as to what TH Investment is going to do with Intraco. Tat Hong, the Singapore listed vehicle is not a party to the transaction. Why Ooi Hong Leong pick up the shares from the market is anybody's guess.
#5 Intra-day 2012-06-07 07:45
Intraco has sharply reversed direction falling to 59 cents now. The hot momentum yesterday was short-lived! At 59-cents, it ain't no hot mama!
#4 Girl 2012-06-06 17:34
Intraco hit 65 cents in July ’07, and was at 13 cents at the worst of the financial crisis.NAV at end ’11 was 70 cents a share.

Yawn!
#3 Darren 2012-06-06 14:49
Intraco loss making does not mean that the company will not turn around. Mr.Oei must has known something which we don't...that's why he is heavy on this company...after all he still buy cheaper than Tat Hong even he bought those shares from open market!
#2 tk.yeung 2012-06-06 11:05
Jaya is my favourite. Long term investor
#1 younginvestor2012 2012-06-06 09:51
really rare to have stock price so high during a bear market.

most of them are penny stocks. easy to manupulate and control

popular and sarin seem to be decent companies. did any of you buy these 2 companies?
 

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