TECHCOMP dual-lists on HK Stock Exchange

Techcomp senior management L-R: Tony Chung (GM of Hong Kong Area), Xu Song Hua (Operation Manager), Gilbert Sin (Financial Controller),  Xu Guoping (MD of Shanghai Techcomp Instrument and Executive Director), Eric Landheer (Senior VP and Head of Issuer Marketing, HK Stock Exchange),  Richard Lo (President of Techcomp), Chan Wai Shing (VP and Executive Director), Tse Po Wah (Director of Marketing of Techcomp Hong Kong and President of Techcomp China),  William Yip (Senior Marketing Manager), Poung Hoi Yam (Spouse of Chan Wai Shing), Yung Yat (Spouse of Richard Lo)

Eric Chan (left, Executive Director) and Richard Lo (centre, President of Techcomp) and Eric Landheer, Senior VP, Head of Issuer Marketing Department, HKEx

Richard Lo, 52, founded Techcomp in HK in 1988 and listed it on the Singapore Exchange in 2004. The company now has a market cap of about S$93 m.

TECHCOMP HOLDINGS, a unique business listed on the Singapore Exchange since 2004, dual-listed yesterday on the stock exchange of Hong Kong.

The HK-based distributor and manufacturer of scientific instruments saw its shares trading between HKD2.43 and HKD2.48, closing at HKD2.43 with 371,000 shares changing hands.

In Singapore, the stock closed unchanged from the previous day at 40 Singapore cents or HKD 2.38.

Techcomp hopes to achieve a higher valuation for its shareholders through the dual listing. Its peers are trading at trailing PERs of 13-27x on various stock exchanges, while it currently trades at FY10 PER of 6.9x.

Techcomp's dual listing was covered by 13 print media and 3 TV channels in HK, according to its investor relations firm Aries Consulting.

Techcomp's 1H revenue grew 18.8% to US$60.8 million, making it a record six months, thanks mainly to the growth of its manufacturing business in Europe and China.

Overall gross profit margin rose 1.1 percentage points to 30.5%. Net profit, however, came in at US$604,000, down 59% because of a one-off US$758,000 expense for its dual-listing exercise.

Investors are familiar with the fact that Techcomp's 2H earnings tend to far outweigh its 1H's. In 2010, for example, the second half accounted for US$9.0 million in net profit while the first half only US$1.5 million.

Techcomp's historical dividend yield is 2.5% based on the 1-Singapore cent a share payout for FY2010.

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