NextInsight
a hub for serious investors
NextInsight RSS
NextInsight - Latest News
- Details
- SGX Research
Technology firm Trek 2000 has grown through innovation. Wayne Tan, its Group President and Executive Chairman, explains how it fosters new ideas and moves into renewable energy.
| If you have ever used the ubiquitous thumb drive or transferred your holiday photographs wirelessly from your camera, it's the innovation of Singaporean technology firm Trek 2000 International Ltd. (Trek2000) that made it possible. After the invention of the disruptive thumb drive and its launch worldwide in 2000, Trek 2000 went on to develop a series of disruptive inventions and innovations, carving out its own pioneering path. In 2010, it unveiled the world’s first WiFi SD card, known as FluCard. |
It introduced the first Thumbdrive Bio, which can only be unlocked via facial recognition, preventing thieves from accessing the data.
It also launched a portable WLAN server with wireless charging, wireless protocols, and data storage. Tan shares, “We wanted to offer an all-in-one workstation for busy people on the go.”
Its Re-YTHM earbuds have unique alert and proximity features.
When users drop a Re-YTHM earbud, it triggers an alert on the earpiece. The proximity feature alerts users if they are too far from connected smartphones to avoid the device from being left behind.
Tan highlights that Trek 2000 continues to innovate and set itself apart.
“We see ourselves as a research and development-based firm that focuses on developing innovative solutions for the world.”
Today, it has three Business Units: Interactive Consumer Solutions (ICS), which spans its range of in-house memory solutions, and Customised Solutions (CS) which caters to B2B customers.
Its third and newest Business unit set up a few years ago, is in Renewable Energy Solutions. This diversification is Tan’s brainchild and passion.
He explains: “When I became group president in 2016, I envisioned that the company should focus on the next technology trend in renewable energy.”
A new purpose in renewables
Unlike other players that may be merely systems integrators, Trek2000’s focus is on developing sub-system solutions for all renewal energy players.
“Over the last two years, we have developed our Datalogger, Dashboards, IOT, Mobile Apps & Cloud. We are aggressively developing AI in our platform that features Predictive, Preventive and Prescriptive assistance.
“For example, our AI platform can track a solar panel’s condition and predict degradability to enable pre-emptive repair and replacement. In prevention, it pays close attention to components and flags potential issues so that these can be addressed before they lead to faults, which can cause fires. If problems do occur, it can prescribe ways to solve them.”
Tan emphasises that concentrating on these three P’s is how Trek 2000 will distinguish itself in the increasingly crowded renewable energy market.
“We made our foray into renewable energy because we saw this technological gap in monitoring and analysis that we knew we could fill, and that is where we will keep making a difference.”
 “We made our foray into renewable energy because we saw this technological gap in monitoring and analysis that we knew we could fill, and that is where we will keep making a difference.” |
He adds that many countries are investing heavily in renewable energy in light of worsening climate change and the urgent need to curb it, creating tremendous opportunities globally for Trek 2000.
“We want to ride the wave in renewable energy. We are working with several global partners, including Energy Storage Systems and microinverters.”
Since Wayne took over management, he has restructured and put in place a new team to tackle challenging endeavours in the future. “I have a young, passionate, committed and exciting team to bring the company forward.”
Igniting the spark of innovation
To undergird its research and development, Trek 2000 has also made recruiting and retaining talent a priority.
|
Stock price |
5.3 c |
|
52-week range |
4.3 – 7.7 c |
|
PE (ttm) |
5.3 |
|
Market cap |
S$16.6 m |
|
Shares outstanding |
313 m |
|
Dividend |
- |
|
1-year change |
29% |
|
Source: Yahoo! |
|
“We’ve ventured outside of Singapore and have R&D facilities in Malaysia, India, and Vietnam to tap into the area of excellence. We upskill and cross-train our staff, and expose them to our strategic partners.”
He shares that senior management staff are empowered to make decisions. “The way I approach leadership is that everyone who works in Trek 2000 plays a part in growing the company. If you have shown that you are capable, I want to make sure that you have the capacity to think outside the box and take us further.”
Anyone with a promising idea can take it directly to senior management too.
“I believe that everybody is an inventor, and I encourage this through our open-door policy. If the idea is good and we adopt it, we will file the patent under the employee’s name to reflect ownership.”
Over the years, Trek 2000 has also built strong relationships with its customers.
Tan recalls an incident when the firm had difficulty collecting payment from a client. With the employee in charge of the account, he met the buyer to understand the situation, lent a hand and worked out a viable payment plan. He says: “It wasn’t just about teaching my staff empathy.”
“Your customers are your future. Helping them maintains your own business’s longevity.” Trek 2000 has been with most of its customers and vendors for over five years, and some, such as memory chip maker Kioxia, partly owned by Toshiba, for over 20 years. “They appreciate our continual innovation.”
About Trek 2000 International Ltd
Trek 2000 International Ltd. (“Trek”), an industry leader, innovator, original inventor and patent owner of the ThumbDrive® offers state-of-the-art design solutions ranging from Interactive Consumer Solutions, Wireless, Antipiracy, Compression and Encryption to sophisticated Enterprise Solutions all catering to the fast-changing digital industry. Trek with its library of granted patents is represented all over the world and has offices in the U.S., Malaysia, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands, China, the Philippines,
The company’s website is www.trek2000.com.sg
About kopi-C: the Company brew
This article first appeared in kopi-C, a regular column by SGX Research in collaboration with Beansprout (https://growbeansprout.com), a MAS-licensed investment advisory platform, that features C-level executives of leading companies listed on SGX. These interviews are profiles of senior management aimed at helping investors better understand the individuals who run these corporations.
- Details
- Leong Chan Teik
|
What was the heyday like for Nordic Group's marine business?
The relevance of this question will be evident later in this article. |
||||||||||||||||
At the 1H2024 results briefing on 20 Aug, Nordic's executive chairman, Chang Yeh Hong, provided some colour on the past peak and subsequent deep trough -- and what looks like the start of an upcyle now:
 "We were generating something like $8 million of profit and order books amounted to about $70 million. After that, it just came down. "For the next 12 years, it just went barren. The orders came as one vessel, two vessels, three vessels. You'd be lucky to get four, and even more lucky to get six. "The trend now, you'll notice, is we have gotten 20 vessels, 25 vessels. The uptrend is coming back, there's an upcycle, and that's why it's very exciting for Dorcas (who heads the marine business within Nordic) and I think it it would be a catalyst for her business to outperform." |
One more key piece of the past: As the marine segment headed down in the past decade or so, Nordic successfully diversified its business offerings via acquisitions of synergistic businesses (table below):
|
Nordic Group’s M&A history |
||||||
|
2011 |
2015 |
2017 |
2019 |
2022 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
$29 m |
$26 m |
$17 m |
$14.8 m |
$59.1 m |
$10 m |
$5 m |
|
All are 100% acquisitions paid for in cash. |
||||||
While Nordic grew as a group, thanks to the acquisitions, its marine segment faded from investor interest but the segment stayed afloat on its recurring MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) business for the 1,000+ vessels it had installed systems into over the years.
The Resurgence
Dorcas Teo: Executive Director and CEO, Nordic Flow ControlThe current resurgence in vessel building, especially in China, Japan and Korea, is driven by, among other things, oil & gas exploration, offshore wind turbine construction, and eco-friendly regulations.
Going forward, Nordic's maritime segment -- which won S$17.7 million orders in 1H2024 -- is expected to play a bigger part in raising Nordic's orderbook.
While S$17.7 million doesn't look amazing, Nordic management has signalled their raised expectations for the marine segment, and shone the spotlight on it for the first time in years. Just look at the 1H2024 PowerPoint deck.
Nordic's total orderbook stood at a record S$242 million as at end-1H2024.
Above shows outstanding orderbook at the end of each financial period.
• Orderbook is broad-based in terms of industries.
• Majority of orderbook comprises recurring maintenance services.
Key projects highlighted in Nordic's 1H2024 PowerPoint deck include:
• Manufacture of valves and actuators for 2 FPSOs, and manufacture of valves, actuators and controls systems for 61 vessels (bulk carriers, car carriers and chemical tankers) to be constructed by shipyards in China.
• Construction services for training facilities for security agencies (by subsidiary Starburst) and fuel dispensing systems for aircraft (by subsidiary Avon).
Challenges
While its outlook is more positive than last year, Nordic Group, whose 1H2024 net profit came in at $8.5 million (-16% y-o-y), continues to face several challenges:
- Cost Pressures: Rising costs, including accommodation expenses which have soared from about $230 per person a month to about $500 over the past few years, and may creep up a bit more in the near term.
Foreign worker levies imposed by the Ministry of Manpower have also moved up.
Nordic is addressing these pressures by adjusting its pricing strategies for new contracts, and sending its workers for higher skills training which will lead to lower worker levies. - Competitive Landscape: The maritime industry is highly competitive, with both international and local players vying for market share.
Overall, after a challenging 2H2023 Nordic is on a recovery trajectory with a record orderbook from diverse industries on hand and, notably, a potentially exciting upcycle for the maritime segment.
See also: Nordic's PowerPoint deck and 1H2024 announcement.
- Details
• Few -- very few -- S-chips have the longevity, as a listco, of China Sunsine as well as the consistent ability to generate large cashflow. China Sunsine listed 17 years ago on the Singapore Exchange. • And it has been generating cash while increasingly focused on shareholder returns. On top of frequent share buybacks (total treasury shares to date: 28.4 million), China Sunsine has been upping its dividend payouts in recent years:
Note: In FY19, China Sunsine carried out a share split where 1 share became 2. Possible reasons: 1) Lack of analyst coverage 2) General under-exposure to investors 3) Fall in profit in 2023 (but 14% 1H2024 pre-tax profit growth) along with a subdued outlook admidst competition in the industry. |
Excerpts from CGS-CIMB report
Analyst: Kenneth Tan & Ong Khang Chuen, CFA
■ Sunsine’s 1H24 net profit (-8% yoy) was largely in line, with stronger-than-expected GPM expansion (+1% pt yoy) offset by higher taxes (+91% yoy).
■ Reiterate Add with an unchanged TP of S$0.47. Decent FY24F yield of 6.5% and ramp-up in share buybacks should cap downside risk, in our view. |
|||||
| Healthy sales volume growth and GPM expansion |
China Sunsine’s (Sunsine) 1H24 core net profit of Rmb189m (+6% hoh, -8% yoy) was largely in line at 50% of our FY24F estimate.
| 90% cash |
| "Balance sheet remains healthy, with net cash rising to Rmb1.7bn (c.90% of current market cap) at end-2Q24." -- CGS-CIMB |
Rubber chemical sales volumes came in healthy (+6% yoy), mostly led by strong rubber accelerator demand from tyre manufacturers based in Southeast Asia, partially offset by weaker domestic demand.
GPM surprised positively at 24.8% (+1% pt yoy), which we attribute to higher-margin sales mix.
However, tax expenses jumped substantially (+91% yoy) due to expiry of the group’s hightech enterprise status (accords lower concessionary taxes).
| ASPs remained firm in 3Q24, while raw material prices declined |
According to commodity market information service provider sci99.com, average rubber accelerator ASPs in Jul-Aug 24 were flat to slightly lower compared to average ASPs in 2Q24.
Average aniline prices in Jul-Aug 24 were down c.10% compared to 2Q24 average prices.
We think GPM should sustain yoy in 2H24F at c.22%, as risks from intensifying industry competition are offset by cost savings achieved from ramp-up of new MBT products in 3Q24F.
| Continued sales volume growth ahead |
We believe Sunsine should maintain healthy sales volume growth ahead, underpinned by
| 1) recovery in domestic tyre manufacturer utilisation rates, 2) ramp-up in sales to Southeast Asia, and 3) favourable government policies supporting automotive demand (e.g. increased subsidies on vehicle trade-ins). |
As shared in its 1H24 outlook statement, management still sees stiff competition persisting in China and continues to implement flexible pricing strategy to defend its market share.
Balance sheet remains healthy, with net cash rising to Rmb1.7bn (c.90% of current market cap) at end-2Q24.
|
Full report here
See also: CHINA SUNSINE: This stock's 5 key metrics have grown 6-8X in 15 years
- Details
• Kong Chee Min, the CEO of Centurion Corp, has rare first-hand corporate leadership experience of a sunset industry and a sunrise industry. • He was its finance director and regional CEO. The company was then called SM Summit -- a Singapore-listed manufacturer of audio cassette tape, then CD-Roms and DVD-Roms. As the Internet era dawned, demand for those storage media would die off. • SM Summit then acquired a small business providing dormitories for workers' accommodation, renamed itself Centurion, and appointed Mr Kong its CEO. • That property management business targeting workers -- and then students as well -- has grown plenty. Today, Centurion owns and manages a portfolio of 32 accommodation assets totalling 66,495 beds as of 30 June 2024, including student accommodation. Centurion operates not just in Singapore but also Malaysia, the UK, the US, Australia, and China.  Centurion management at last week's results briefing (L-R): Ho Lip Chin, Chief Investment Officer – Accommodation Business | CEO Kong Chee Min | CFO Foo Ai Huey | Head of Corp Communications David Phey. Photo: Company  Centurion's accommodation profit was turning up even through the pandemic.Centurion's stock has gained 65% since the beginning of this year (from 40 cents to 66 cents), as its 1H24 results extended a long-running profit streak (see chart). With S$53.7 million net profit in 1H2024, excluding fair value gain on investment properties, it's on track to achieve more than S$100 million for the full year. • As the largest Purpose-Built Workers Accommodation (PBWA) provider in Singapore and Malaysia, Centurion is riding on high demand for foreign workers' living quarters. See: CENTURION: Homes for workers can't be built fast enough, so this company is enjoying a rental boom Centurion continues to increase the capacity of its workers accommodation and students’ accommodation. For UOB Kay Hian's latest take on the company, read excerpts below... |
Excerpts from UOB Kay Hian report
Analyst: Adrian Loh
Centurion Corporation (CENT)
1H24: Growth Outlook Undimmed For The Next Two Years
Centurion Corp delivered better-than-expected 1H24 core net profit of S$53m (+48% yoy), driven by strong occupancies and positive rental revisions across both its PBWA (Purpose-Built Workers Accommodation) and PBSA (Purpose-Built Students Accommodation) segments.
Target price upgraded to S$0.85. |
||||
• Robust growth in its PBWA and PBSA segments with strong occupancies. Both its PBWA and PBSA segments performed well with segmental profit growth of 35% and 37% yoy to S$46m and S$11m respectively.
CENT’s PBWA assets in Singapore are essentially full with 99% occupancy rate while those in Malaysia declined by 4ppt yoy to 90% due to asset enhancement initiatives.
The company’s PBSA assets in the UK had full occupancy at 99% (+9ppt yoy) while Australia registered 94% occupancy and is likely to hit full occupancy in the near term given that student arrivals in 2023 are set to be a new record for the country. 
ASPRI-Westlite Papan: This Centurion worker accommodation is strategically located near Jurong Island, home to more than 100 global energy and chemical companies.
• Positive demand and rental rate outlook for PBWAs. In the near to medium term, CENT’s PBWA business in Singapore will continue to exhibit full occupancy given the construction sector’s robust spending in the next 3-5 years.
At its results briefing, management stated that its average rental rate per bed is around S$450-500/bed vs some rates at S$600/bed, thus implying some scope for positive rental rate reversions in the next 12-18 months.
One positive overlay is that in both Singapore and Malaysia, authorities have put in place higher housing standards for migrant workers, thus highlighting CENT’s assets in a positive light vs some of its smaller peers.
• PBSA expected to remain at healthy levels. Occupancy rates at CENT’s UK and Australian assets were at full or near full at 99% and 94% respectively in 1H24, with both geographic segments expected to remain high in the next 12-18 months due to lack of quality accommodation.
As a result, the company stated that it is continuing to explore new opportunities to expand its portfolio, either via development projects or asset light ones.
Management does not foresee new Australian visa regulations, which has materially increased visa fees, crimping demand for its PBSA assets.
• Solid balance sheet. For 1H24, CENT had available cash and banking facilities totaling S$91m.
The company continues to lower its gearing levels: at end-1H24, CENT had a net gearing of 34% vs 43% in 1H23 and 38% at end-23.
The company’s interest coverage ratio was 4.7x (1H23: 3.4x) with an average long-term debt maturity of five years.
EARNINGS REVISION/RISK
• Upgrading earnings. We nearly doubled our 2024F earnings to take into account the S$61m fair value gain on the company’s investment properties.
Earnings for 2025 and 2026 have been raised by 6% and 9% to account for the new bed capacities in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, offset by the sale of two assets in the US.
• Potential for higher dividend payout. CENT declared a 1H24 dividend of S$0.015, implying a 26% dividend payout based on EPS of S$0.0577 from its core business operations.
We have maintained our current forecast dividend of S$0.03 for the full year, but we believe that there is a high likelihood of an upside to S$0.035 given the strong earnings, implying a 2024F yield of 5.3% based on Friday’s closing share price.
VALUATION/RECOMMENDATION
|
• Maintain BUY with a higher PE-based target price of S$0.85 as we have rolled forward our valuation year to 2025. |
Full report here.
- Details
- Leong Chan Teik
|
After a series of unexpected developments -- negative ones, starting in 2H2023 -- the lacklustre (but not unexpected) 1H2024 results of AEM Holdings dealt a further blow to its stock price (1 year return: -62%). |
In last week's earnings call, Amy painted broad and assuring strokes of AEM's recent achievements and forward direction:
| Customer diversification, product innovation: Our diversification strategy to expand market segments and customers continue to gain momentum. AI and advanced packaging are the bright spots for us. Our significant R&D investment over the last few years have yielded differentiated test products for our AI customers. We have recently announced our burn-in system, AMPS-BI, and we have already received the first production orders of more than S$20 million for several systems. We believe this is the initial stage of a multi-year rollout to support our customers AI product ramp.  Additionally, we're also very encouraged by the rising demand for our thermal technology PiXLTM that can be deployed into multiple test insertions, including system level tests, burn-in, final tests providing us a common thermal pathway to drive our future growth. All of these opportunities for AEM came in at a time when our key customer is facing headwind and recently just announced a major business restructuring. In the near term, we expect continued soft demand from our key customer. Momentum from new customers: However, we anticipate strong momentum in new business growth as we move into later part of this year as a result of our diversification strategy. We expect positive quarter-on-quarter revenue growth in the fourth quarter driven by new customer business growth. For the second half of 2024, we're providing a guidance of revenue range of S$160 million to S$180 million. |
To a question "Is the triple-digit million dollar revenue forecast from new accounts -- does it still hold in 2025?", she replied:
| The short answer is yes, we are really seeing the first evidence in 2024. We're doubling our new customer business this year and we're on track for our previous projection for 2025. The S$20 million order that we have received is for the new product that we have just announced. It is called AMPS Burn-In and it's optimized for AI chips as part of the test flow. This is one growth vector of our several new customer engagements that we already have developed. We have several projects with five customers going on right now and the collection of those customers and those projects will fuel our triple digit million revenue (from new accounts) in 2025. |
Non-executive chairman Loke Wai San made several comments on new customer wins during the earnings call:
Non-executive chairman Loke Wai San. File photo"It takes many years to win and displace an incumbent in any one of these marquee clients that we have. The selection process is very rigorous, it is multi-year and we're seeing the fruits of that. Last year's initial revenues were where we shipped prototypes, paid prototypes into lab evaluations.
"What you'll be seeing in the second half especially in Q4 is that shift into production. We have received POs (purchase orders) for production. It means that we've crossed the chasm, if you will. There are still many that we expect to cross into multiple ramps."
| There was a question of R&D expenses impacting profit margins. R&D expenses amounted to S$11.5 million in 1H2024 (1H2023: S$15.2 million). Mr Loke commented: "I hope we continue to have customer engagements where we invest in R&D to win significant, you know, multi hundred million dollar type businesses over a period of years for each account. "If you layer those demand curves and opportunity curves, you have to invest in R&D to then win for multi-years. These are very sticky multi-year projects that we're winning and getting into production." |
For more, see AEM's press release here.
- FOOD EMPIRE: Which kopi seller is cheaper & better? The market leader in Malaysia or Singapore?
- YANGZIJIANG: After a remarkable 1H2024, this S-chip is on track to make S$1 billion net profit this year
- CHINA AVIATION OIL: Broker says watch out for its upcoming results. It should reflect higher air travel in China
- CSE: Look out for this S'pore company to grow strongly via its US "electrification" business