Cory Diary : Remembering Lee Kuan Yew

Watched the ST Video on Remembering LKY. My tears keep flowing down throughout the hour long play. Maybe two ... i dunno why. Mr Lee has been there throughout my life. I saw him once in real person faraway when Hougang Mall was first opened about 20 years ago i guess. Fifty metres away across the open central space from a level high. I was contented.

Many things we have taken for granted today do not come by chance. English gives me a good job. We have a garden city. A safe country. A strong economy. And a credible army. His policy truly influenced and directed our life for the better. What more can we want from a man of such greatness ?

He is widely respected  by leaders of the world not only because he has built a successful Singapore and put us in the world map but he has made the world a better place.

Mr Lee, 

when Mrs Lee passed away, I can feel you are deeply saddened. Life is no longer the same. Now you are together again. I am grateful to you for what I have today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Miss you always. 

Truly,

Cory

27th Mar'15

Cory Diary: Starhub Cash Flow

To start with, i have position in this and need to assess my risk level. With the AR just published is time to do a quick review.

QvQ Results
Rev up 5.1%, Profit 10.1%, FCF 48.7 M (tripled up)

FY14
- FCF 333.3 M (~14% Increase)
- Finance Expenses $22.6 M

Annual Dividend : 20 cents (S$347 M)
Borrowing : $687.5 M (~3.29% interests using Finance expenses)
Shares : 1,733,188,000

"As at 31 December 2014, the Group’s cash and cash equivalents amounted to S$264.2
million, slightly lower than S$266.9 million a year ago."


Thoughts

The increase in FCF means they could well afford to pay out the annual 20 cents dividends. In fact higher dividends are within realm of possibility considering the reserve they have.

Personally i think management is right to be conservative. This may implied a more stable increment share price increase while media hub project drives higher capex in the future quarters. A concern. The other is Finance cost. Should be well within means to support 2~3% up scenario in ~3 years time with increasing support base.


Cory
26th Feb '15

Cory Diary: Reading up on Challenger

Notes taken as i read the AR. Three months Ended 31 Dec 2014 QvQ Comparison

• Revenue : 11% gains. 400k more profit than 2013. A nice 1.43 cents EPS from 1.32 on the backdrop of lower YoY. Do note that the full year revenue reduction actually comes from both Singapore and Malaysia geographical segments. A nice surprise that this Q beats prior year.

• Rental : Increased about 500K. A major cost on profitability.

• Operation: Stable inventory level and operation cash flow. Some capex investment noticeable.

• Management: Propose dividend of 1.25 cents. There's indication management is well grasp of the business climate and trying to innovate.

At 46 cents price level, that's more than 9% earning. Based on 2.35 cent full year dividends, 5.1% dividend yield.

Local Stores are pretty numerous now and oversea expansion did not work well. I do not have the indication that we will see quick result from new activities nor do i expects significant impact for the next few Qs. While staff cost at the mean time can by curtailed, the malls rental cost cannot.

Decided to sell and monitor for the time being. I hope to be back.

Cory

23rd Feb'15