There are some of us who simply swear by public transport. I can think of no better way of getting around than to delegate the chore of ferrying me from A to B to someone else.
In ComfortDelGro (SGX: C52), we have a company that ticks many transportation boxes. It is not only one of the biggest taxi operators in Singapore, but it is also has its finger in buses and trains too. If that wasn’t enough, the company also has overseas operations and is even involved in testing the road-worthiness of private cars.
That is perhaps the first thing to like about ComfortDelGro. It provides a service that is likely to be in demand for as long as people want to get about. The business is not difficult to understand, either. Peter Lynch once said: “Never invest in a business that you can’t illustrate with a crayon.” So, according to the “crayon” theory of investing, ComfortDelGro would be: “A company that gets people from A to B and charges a fee for the service. Voila!
The next thing to like about ComfortDelGro is its consistent Return on Equity. Over the last three years, it has generated a return of around $10 for every $100 of invested capital. This compares well with the market average. The median RoE for the 30 companies that make up the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) is also around 10%. ComfortDelGro’s steadiness is thanks to its reliably high Net Income Margin. It makes a net profit of around $7 for every $100 of turnover.
ComfortDelGro’s wide geographic spread is also an attractive attribute. Around three-fifth of the company’s revenues are generated in Singapore. Meanwhile, the UK and Australia are important sources of revenue too. They account for about a-fifth and a-seventh of total revenue. Other countries that ComfortDelGro has operations include China, Vietnam and Malaysia.
OKP Holdings: Wins S$4 Million Contract To Improve Drainage At Chai Chee Road And New Upper Changi Road
27 Dec 2013 17:20
OKP Holdings Limited continues to grow its civil engineering business with another new contract win for the year. The contract, secured by OKP's wholly-owned subsidiary, Eng Lam Contractors Co (Pte) Ltd and valued at S$4.0 million, is for the improvement of drainage at Chai Chee Road and New Upper Changi Road. This brings OKP's current gross order book to S$451.0 million. Expected to commence on 30 December 2013 and be completed on 29 September 2014, this contract involves the construction of drains and culverts in the Chai Chee Road and New Upper Changi Road...
The stock market index of Singapore, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), rose close to 2% for the holiday-shortened week, closing at 3,150 points.
For the seven days ended Friday, 27 Dec 2013, 29 constituent stocks out of 30 finished in positive territory while one long ranger, Hongkong Land (SGX: H78), remained flat at US$5.80.
Out of the 29 stocks, Jardine Cycle & Carriage (SGX: C07) was the largest gainer for the week, rising 4.9% to close at S$36.29. The company is yielding around 4% currently and trades at a historical PE of 12.
Beverage maker, Thai Beverage, (SGX: Y92) gained 3.9%, closing at S$0.53. On Christmas eve, the company announced that International Beverage Holdings Limited, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Thai Beverage and InterBev Investment Limited, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of International Beverage, have both increased their paid-up share capital.
In the mid-cap front, one of the biggest risers was Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX: C2PU), ballooning 8.3% to S$2.35. It was featured in this week’s Singapore “Flyer” as well. The share price of most real estate investment trusts flourished this week.
According to Bloomberg, STI is trading at a historical PE 13.5 and has a market capitalisation of S$508.1 billion.
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