Wednesday, March 14, 2012

分享锦集:你也可以开金店

Feb 6th, 2012 | By 冷眼 | Category: 分享锦集

这两年来,黄金暴涨,现虽然已由巅峰略为回落,但仍比两年前高出一大截。两年前买进金条的人,现在仍有丰厚的利润。

黄金一向被视为有保值的价值,同时也是高贵身分的象征,受到全球人们的钟爱,历久不衰,过去如此,将来仍将如此,黄金一定有人要,所以黄金生意一定有得做,也一定有利可图。

开金店6难题

窃以为从投资的角度看,与其买黄金保值,倒不如开金店,更容易赚钱,理由是收藏黄金保值赚钱,是消极及被动的行为,你的命运由别人(市场)决定,而开金店则是积极及主动的赚钱法,命运操在自己手中。

也许你认为你没条件开金店。是的,开金店谈何容易,最低限度要面对六道难题:

第一:资本颇大

宝光控股执行主席兼董事经理拿督锺义翔在受访问时透露,开设一间金店,成本介于300万至500万令吉之间,并非小型企业者可以负担得起。

第二:人才、管理、经验,三者缺一不可

人才难找,管理和经验需要时间陶冶,并无捷径可循。

第三:理想地点难找

作为零售生意,金店最好坐落在人气旺盛,人流稠密的地点,而此类地点可能早已被其他零售商捷足先登,轻易不肯放弃,故可遇而不可求。

第四:品牌不易建立

作为贵重商品,黄金顾客多数光顾老招牌金店,确保货真价实。

第五:规模

规模要大才能通过薄利多销,降低成本。通常大型金店集团都拥有自己的首饰制造厂,这是只有一两间店面的金店难以做到的。

第六:回本期长

首饰难以获取暴利,投资回本期长,要多年耐心守候才能建立基本顾客群,达到生意量稳定的地步。投资者把资金投进去将长期被绑。

要克服以上六道难题,谈何容易。若如此,一般投资者岂不是与首饰业无缘?

200万投资珠宝公司

其实,这是错误的想法,只要大家突破思想的框框,打破“力不到不为财”的传统观念,你就会发现,每个人都可以通过购买上市珠宝公司的股票(股份),就可以轻易的克服以上六难题,达成投资珠宝业获取合理回酬的心愿。

宝光珠宝业大哥大

现在让我举宝光为例来阐述这个概念。

宝光是大马珠宝业的大哥大,有悠久的历史,是大家所熟悉的老招牌金店,备受信赖。

该公司在全马拥有100间分店(第100间最近在怡保开幕),以后每年会增开3至5间分店。

宝光的实收资本为2亿500万令吉,分为每股面值50仙的股票4亿1000万股。

4亿1000万股的1%为410万股,而100间的1%为1间。

所以,只要你购买410万股宝光股份(股票只不过是股份的证书而已),你其实就等于已经拥有100间分店中的其中一间。

以宝光在1月30日时的闭市价48仙计算,购买410万股的投资额为:RM0.48×4,100,000 = RM1,968,000。

这等于说,你只需要拿出约200万令吉,就可以开设一间分店。以宝光今年首季的净利计算,只要3年多就可以赚回200万的投资额(本益比三倍)。

本小利大 回收期短

锺义翔说,开设一间分店的成本为300至500万令吉,假设我们取中间数,投资额为400万令吉的话。

也比通过买宝光股票开金店高一倍,回收期也长一倍。

资产证券化概念

不要忘记,宝光的金店,都坐落在优良的地点,有稳定的顾客群,生意滔滔,而且已有可观盈利,开新店不但地点难找,而且起码要守三、两年才有利可图。

所以,通过购买宝光1%股权(410万股),拥有宝光1%金店,是本小利大,回收期短及省时省力的投资法。

开新店则是本大利小,回收期长及麻烦多多的投资法。比较之下,优劣立见。

可惜的是大部分散户都没有“资产证券化,证券大众化”的概念。

所谓“资产证券化”就是用一纸证书来代表资产(店屋、厂房、货物、现金等等都是资产)的价值,跟地契代表土地;车卡代表汽车拥有权没有两样。

股票代表企业所有资产,买股票就是买企业的资产。

所以,宝光的4亿1000万股股票,是代表宝光100间金店的所有资产,包括建筑物、存货、现金、工场、商誉等等。

购买410万股宝光,你其实是购买了宝光1%的资产(包括业务),也就是拥有100间店铺中的其中一间。

通过买股票投资

“证券大众化”就是将股份(股票)分割为数额很小的份额,使人人都买得起,而达到了“大众化”的目的(股票是证券之一),证券大众化其实是均富的最好途径。

宝光成为上市公司,使每一个人都有机会通过购买股票,投资于该公司,分享营业成果,只要循规蹈矩去做,就是公德无量。

买入股票解决开店6难题

通过购买410万股宝光,拥有一间宝光金店,你轻易的解决了以上所说的开新店的六大难题:

第一:成本低

通过购买宝光股票开设金店,成本比开新店低一半,如果盈利相同的话,赚率将增加一倍。

开新店是本大利小,购买现成金店是本小利大。

第二:现成人才

不必为人才、管理及经验伤脑筋,由锺义翔领导的团队,会替你把金店管理得妥妥当当。拿督是此行的行尊,对这行业了如指掌,而手下员工大部分有丰富的服务经验。

该公司数十年来年年赚钱,说明了这个团队的可信赖程度。开新店不容易找到这样的人才。

第三:地点优越

宝光的现成金店都在优良的地点,解决了好店位难找的难题。
实际上,这些优良的地点本身就是无形资产,是有价值的。

第四:品牌受信赖

宝光是老招牌,家喻户晓。

第五:规模大

大宗买原料,可以降低成本。

第六:回本期短

现成金店马上有盈利,新店恐怕要等上三、五年才可赚钱,不但缩短回本期,而且资本已证券化,随时可以在股市脱售,以套取部分或全部现金,不像私人金店那样,资金长期被捆绑。

宝光到去年10月31日的本财务年第一季营业量比上一年同时期激增36%至2亿3000万令吉,净利1772万令吉,每股净赚4.32仙。

如果其余三季能保持此业绩的话,全年营业量将激增至超过9亿令吉,净利可能达7000万令吉,每股净利17.28仙(4.32仙×4 = 17.28仙),以48仙的股价,预期本益比仅为2.78倍。

在比较上述资讯之后,到底是要通过宝光买现成金店,还是开新店,你应该心里有数了吧!

通过此法,人人都可以参与首饰业。

与其买黄金,不如做黄金生意!

思考重点

宝光创于1976年,至今已有46年的历史。作为大马首饰业的龙头大哥,宝光给人的印象是作风保守,实际上该公司是在“沉着应战”。

在这个行业,稳健、务实是优点,不是弱点。

每年只增开3至5间分店,稳步前进,可以走更远的路。

宝光在芙蓉、巴生、八打灵再也、马六甲、关丹、峇株巴辖、梳邦、吉隆坡、莎阿南、雪兰莪,拥有31宗产业,买进日期由1989至2009年不等,包括店铺和住宅,至今仍以买进时的价格进账,现在这些产业已增值多少倍?

例如该公司在1995年9月1日买进,位于八打灵再也的独立式首饰制造厂,占地7570.30平方尺(8万1486方尺或1.87英亩),在账目中的价值为1223万4000令吉,现在价值多少?

在2011年7月31日的账目中,该公司拥有9154万5807令吉的不动产,现在价值多少?

所以,每股89仙的净有形资产价值,肯定是被低估。

8年赚2亿

以每年开设3至5家分店的速度,需花30年才能达到宝光目前的规模,而目前48仙的股价,约等于该公司每股净有形资产的一半,买宝光股不是比开新店更合算吗?

宝光上市8年来共赚了2亿令吉,刚好等于该公司的市值,难道其业务、商誉、物业,都没有价值?

为什么股价不起?因为派息率太低,每年1.4仙的股息,即使是目前48仙的发息,周息率也只有区区的2.4%。如提高至3仙(或派发净利的30%)相信可以吸引更多投资者买进作为长期投资,从而提高股价。

分享锦集:如何发掘第二线优质股

Feb 19th, 2012 | By 冷眼 | Category: 分享锦集

我在《格林尼和金锋大股东廉价私有化上市公司》(1月30日)一文中,最后一句为“机会是在第二线优质股”。

这句话,引起了不少读者的兴趣,不断的有人问:

⑴为什么我认为今年的赚钱机会是在第二线优质股?

⑵“第二线优质股”是指那些股票?(要符合什么条件才有资格称为“第二线优质股”?)

⑶怎样找出有潜能的第二线优质股?

⑷散户应采取怎样的投资策略?

现在让我逐项回答上述问题:

答案一:为什么我认为今年的赚钱机会是在第二线优质股?

金融海啸重伤 散户却步股市

次贷风暴所触发的金融海啸重伤散户,使散户却步股市。在过去三年中,在股市积极投资的都是投资机构,他们所买的都是活跃的蓝筹股,导致蓝筹股持续上升,至今高企不下。

对于第二、三线股票,一来是由于交投不活跃,票量不多,而素质又良莠不齐,投资机构不感兴趣,导致股价长期不振,形成了蓝筹股与第二三线股股价各走极端的怪现象。

在长期被投资大众冷落的情况下,导致许多第二线优质股价值严重被低估。

大家只要仔细阅读报章的股市行情表,就不难发现,蓝筹股的本益比,许多已在15倍以上,而许多优质第二线股票,本益比在5倍以下的,比比皆是。两者形成了强烈的对照。第二线优质股何以无人问津?我想原因有二:

⑴是不了解。大马投资者认真研究上市公司的人数,出奇的少,大部分人都没兴趣做功课,导致大部分人不了解上市公司的价值。

⑵大多数人只感兴趣投机,以赚取快钱,对于长期投资,兴趣索然。许多第二线优质股都不是热门股,股价波动不大,难以引起投机者的兴趣。

股票投资,假如你是一名“跟随者”,跟在别人后面,大家买什么你也跟着买什么,那么,你只能赚到大家所能赚到的钱,你的投资成绩,不可能比别人更特出。

如果你想你的投资成绩超越一般人的话,那么,你就一定要跟别人有不同的想法,必须做别人不想做,不要做的事,这样,你才有可能赚到一般人所无法赚到的钱。

这就是“反向”的真义。

就以目前股市的情况来说,我认为,大部分蓝筹股价值已反映在股价上,上升的幅度以回酬巴仙率计算,肯定不如价值被严重低估的第二线优质股。

答案二:第二线优质股是指那些股票?

“优质股”须具备条件

第二线股亦良莠不齐。我认为惟有具备以下条件的股票,才配称为“优质股”。

⒈要有合理的盈利表现,而且在可以预见的将来,其盈利趋势可以持续。

⒉派发合理的股息。

⒊现金流量平稳,不会出现货物滞销,导致周转不灵。

⒋预期本益比在8倍以下,越低越好。(以本财务年,不是以过去财务年的每股净利计算出来的本益比)。

⒌盈利有成长潜能。

要具备以上五个条件中的最少三个,才有资格称为优质股,成为我们考虑投资的对象。

答案三:走样发掘第二线优质股?从何下手呢?

研究报章找“灵感”

最方便的方法,是找一份《南洋商报》的“股汇”版,从“本益比”栏中找“灵感”。你可以将本益比8倍以下的股只写在一张纸上,作为研究的对象。

但要特别注意,报章用以计算本益比的,是上一个财务年的每股净利,而且是全年的数目。

现在的商业社会,竞争白热化,上市公司的盈利在一年中可以有很大的变化,所以,不要完全以一年前的资料作为选股标准,而是要跟进每季的业绩,以确保你是根据最新的资料,而不是根据一年前的资料作出投资决定。

有一些公司,曾有一个时期陷入困境,但经过重组及瘦身后,会像火中凤凰般,成为优质股。马建屋就是一个典型的例子。

读完公司文告

该公司在九十年代曾是蓝筹股,金融风暴之后,曾有一段很长的时间陷困,直到两年前,大力扩展借钱给公务员的业务,才脱胎换骨,以黑马的姿态出现,成为表现极为特出的优质股。

那些只记得该公司困境的投资者,忽略了该公司翻身的最新进展,都错过了低价买进该公司股票的良机。

有意“寻宝”的投资者,最好养成每天读完公司文告的习惯,这样,才有可能跟上上市公司的最新进展,抓住新的投资机会,取得卓越的回酬。

随手举一个例子,太平洋与东方保险公司(P&O),是2001至2008年的8年中,有7年蒙受亏蚀,这个印象深植投资者脑中,所以,一提到太平洋与东方保险,投资者的第一个反应就是该股不是好股,实际上该公司由2009年起就恢复盈利,而且逐年上升,去年已每股净赚20.18仙。

仔细看季报

再仔细看该公司的季报,该公司去年第三季每股净赚6.58仙;第四季赚5.95仙,比第一及第二季的3.96仙和3.68仙有显著的增长。

如果本财务年能够重复第三及第四季的业绩的话,到2012年9月财务年,就有可能每股净赚25仙,以目前1令吉的股价,预期本益比不过4倍,跟其他金融股相比,此预期本益比显然偏低。

太平洋与东方保险之所以能改善业绩,相信跟国家银行实施的风险管理新架构有关(RBCCapilalFramework,有兴趣的可以进入 Google找到此份超过100页的文件,了解详情)。在这新架构下,保险(尤其是杂险)的经营环境改善了,今后保险公司的盈利可望更平稳。

将在2月底出炉的该公司本财务年首季的业绩,将是该公司能否持续去年最后两季业绩的重要资讯,有意购买该公司的投资者应注意跟进。

另一个典型的例子是供应汽车配给国产车的EP制造(EPMB)。

这家历史颇悠久的公司,给大家的印象是业绩平平,却很少人注意到在过去三年中,该公司的业绩有显著的改善,每股净利由2009年的4.51仙,到2010年的15.90仙,到2011年9月的三季已赚了18.58仙。

如果该公司到去年12月的第四季能保持第三季6.20仙的盈利的话,即将在本月底公布的去年全年每股净利可能达到25仙,以目前1令吉的股价,预期本益比也是4倍。

该公司五年来的股价除了去年5月一度突破1令吉的票面价值之外,从未超过1令吉,实在令人费解。

注意低调公司

由于大部分股友只热衷于热门股,对于低调公司视若无睹。一些低调公司,实际上是很结实的,例如建筑股中有一家叫高胜(KEN)的,以9586万的资本,手头拥有7108万的现金,每股现金74仙,完全没有负债。

去年每股净赚20仙,今年首三季已赚了17.79仙,全年业绩将在本月底出炉,预料每股净利将超过20仙,难怪该公司持续不断的回购该公司的股票,到1月17日时已买进了6,046,700股。(资料均取自公司文告)。

只要养成天天读公司文告的习惯,要发现有潜能的股票,并非难事。

假如你想在股市长期生存,就非勤做功课不可。勤于阅读年报、季报及公司文告,是挖掘有潜能股票最佳途径。

答案四:散户应采取怎样的投资策略?

赚钱要靠自己做功课

①买进时就准备进行长期投资。

生意是要时间去经营,才有可能把钱赚到手的。你必须给时间让公司的管理层替你赚钱。

生意是要按部就班去进行才能创富。

创富不可能一蹴而就,细水长流胜过一次过的暴利。

②买进股票后要贴身跟进公司的业绩进展,如果公司无法达到你预期的盈利,而又没有充足及合理的理由,就应立刻退股——把股票卖掉。

③所有的投资决定,都要根据基本面作出。

基本面必须有事实与数字支撑,不可存有幻想,更不可有偏见。

临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网。

记住,赚钱是非常个人的事,别人很难替你作主。

一般声明

举例只是方便说明,并非推荐购买,本人可能拥有或未拥有有关股票。

分享锦集:煮熟的青蛙

Mar 5th, 2012 | By 冷眼 | Category: 分享锦集

迩来股市投机气氛越来越浓厚,一向没人问津的仙股,被轮流炒高,散户们应接不暇,又特别兴奋。他们也很矛盾:跃跃欲试想参与,却又怕偷鸡不着蚀把米;不参与吗,又怕错过赚钱机会,导致大部分人都没了主意,不知道该如何是好。

平心而论,在低价股中,也有一些有价值的股票,只是良莠不分,整批或整组的长期被市场忽略,股价长期不振,最近仙股的暴升,一方面是有价值的仙股突然被投资者发现其价值被低估,进行吸购,股价调整至较为合理的水平,另一方面,也是一些“有心人”藉着这一阵风,将一些垃圾仙股炒高,以谋取暴利,最后吃亏的,必然是无知的散户。

牛市逐步成型

所以,假如你真的想淌这一浑水的话,一方面要睁大眼睛,看清楚这些仙股的价值及实情,另一方面,也要作好愿赌服输的心理准备。千万不要让投机股市影响你的工作,尤其不可使你的家庭受到干扰。

“债灾”报道渐少

投机风气炽盛,股市价量齐升,说明了散户已重回股市。任何一个股市,如果没有散户的参与,不可能形成牛市。大马散户终于放弃了在场外观望的态度,有点不顾一切的跳进股海,这是牛市逐步成型的象征,龙年到底是大牛还是小牛市,还要其他因素的配合,而这个牛市对散户是福是祸,就很难说了。

大家不晓得有没有发现,近月来报章对美国经济和欧洲“债灾”的报道越来越少了,这是好现象。我曾在报馆工作30年,对报人的选稿习惯了如指掌,我们通常是报忧不报喜,坏消息总是以大标题刊出,好消息则以二台标题见报。

其实,这也是迎合读者偏爱“灾”闻的心理,而这样处理新闻的。

所以,“没消息就是好消息”是很有道理的。现在欧美经济“灾”闻数量大减,象征着欧美经济已逐渐走出“灾”区,即使还有续闻,亦不足以引起群众的恐慌,对股市来说,这是好现象。

“不忘基本面”3问

在“灾”闻泛滥期间,低价股要卖的都卖光了,剩下的是不愿贱价脱售的严肃长期投资者,仙股下跌空间有限,在这种情况下,只要有人带头,推高3几只股票,就可以触发股市较全面窜升的现象,目前的投机,就是在这种情况下引爆的。

在这种情况之下,散户该怎么做?

我的主张是:无论是投资或投机(我反对投机),都要念念不忘基本面,这样可以减低风险。

所谓“不忘基本面”,是在买进时要3问:

股票本益比过高勿买

1问:此股的本益比是多少?不要买本益比过高的股票,对于没有本益比的股票,除非你肯定有关公司能反亏为盈,否则,最好不要沾手。

2问:此股派多少股息?如果有盈利而没派息,可能是有关公司需要保留资金,以扩展业务,这是成长股的象征,也可以考虑买进,但本益比必须偏低。对没有本益比(表示公司亏蚀)、本益比奇高,而周息率又奇低或没股息的股票,最好不要买进,以免资金被长期套牢。

现金流低公司易陷困

3问:此股债务是否奇高而现金流又奇低?如果有这种现象的话,最好不要买进,因为这种公司最易陷困。股票投资,即使买进价格略高,只要公司盈利持续上升,股价必然从之,你还有机会回本,甚至有钱赚。

最怕的就是公司“烂”了,所谓“烂”了就是公司破产了,玩完了,那就永远无法回去了。债高而又没有现金流的公司,最易“烂”,避之则吉。

注入新业务公司 成功巴仙率很低

还有,要提醒大家的是对被注入新业务的上市公司,不要有太高的期望。过去的经验显示:注入新业务的公司,成功的巴仙率很低。

在商场中,没有免费午餐这回事。没有人会无端端的让别人分享他的“肥水”。所以,每一宗有利可图的业务,都是在被大量灌水之后才注入上市公司的,企业家在做任何一件事时,都以本身的利益为出发点,他不可能贱价脱售好的业务,以施舍盈利给小股东。

所以,上市公司所取得的新业务,即使有利可图,也是付出了高昂的代价,利润微不足道。如果期望太高的话,你最后必然大失所望。

从次贷风暴引爆的金融海啸现在已进入第五年,风暴的最低点是2009年第一季,从那时起,无论是美国或大马股市,都是以大涨小回头的形势上升,无论是股市或个别股项都是如此。在复苏初期,我曾写过一篇《不动如山两年》,主张大家低价买进好股后就不要轻易出售,以赚取最大的回酬。3年来的股市动向证明我当年的看法是正确的。

蓝筹股“本大利小”

经过了数年的挺升,我认为蓝筹股的价值已反映在其股价上,从本益比可以看出股价已不便宜。没有人会知道还有多少上升的余地。但是,现在买进,你是在做“本大利小”的投资了,恐怕不是明智之举。

散户现在活跃投入股市,以第二、三线为战场,这种战略是正确的。但是,第二、三线股良莠不齐,其中不少垃圾存在,如果选择错误,仍可能踏到地雷。

所以,如果你要买进第二、三线股票的话,一定要有沙里淘金的本领,而“3问”就是沙里淘金的最好标准。

优质股被低估

现在,许多第二、三线优质股价值被严重低估,买进作为投资,风险不高,回酬可观,应是明智之举。

但要特别提醒,当第二、三线被炒高,价值被高估时,恐怕牛市就近尾声了。

无论在牛市或熊市,都念念不忘基本面,以基本面作为进退的准则,就不会错到哪里去。

千万不要做锅里的青蛙,将锅注满了冷水,将青蛙放在水中,青蛙会在水中快乐地游来游去,你下面生火,慢慢的煑水,水温慢慢上升,青蛙会麻木不仁,失去警觉,到他发现时,已被煮熟了。

要提高警惕,不要做被煮熟的青蛙哟!

(完)

YTL Comms targets half a million postpaid subscribers

In The Edge Financial Daily Today 2012
Written by Nadia S Hassan
Wednesday, 07 March 2012 11:37

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd is targeting to grow its postpaid subscriber base to half a million by end-2012 according to its CEO Wing K Lee.

“We are aiming for our total subscriber base to be over one million by the end of the year. However, we will have to see how the rest of the year goes,” said Wing after the launch of YTL Comms YES 4G wireless Unlimited Super Postpaid plans yesterday.

YTL Comms comes under the umbrella of listed entity YTL Power International Bhd. YTL Power chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping had been quoted as telling shareholders in 2011 that he expected YTL Comms to break even when its subscriber base reaches one million.

As such, if YTL Comms manages to achieve one million subscribers by the year-end, it means that the company could be profit generating.

Yeoh had also said at the time that he expected YTL Comms to turn around within two years. YTL Comms is currently loss-making, according to YTL Power’s latest 4Q results. For the financial period ended Dec 31, YTL Comms recorded a net loss of RM197 million while its top line stood at RM30.6 million. For the previous corresponding period, revenue had stood at RM4.7 million, while net losses had been RM27.7 million.

YTL Comms has gained a subscriber base of over 300,000 in the 15 months since YES was launched, according to Wing.

Earlier, YTL Comms had announced a target of 400,000 subscribers by the end of 2011.

However, according to the company, while the initial pickup was slow, YES is starting to gain traction on the back of new packages and offerings.

“We have also managed to almost double our number of base stations during the past 15 months.

“We initially had around 1,200 base stations that gave us around 60% population coverage. Now the number has grown to 2,200, which gives us around 70% coverage of the population,” Wing said.

According to YTL Comms deputy CEO Jacob Yeoh, the company is aiming to expand its coverage to 80% of the population by the end of 2012.

“We are hoping to have around 4,000 base stations by the end of the year, which will help expand our coverage by an additional 10 percentage points.

We had also earlier said we were planning to spend around RM2.5 billion in capital expenditure to meet this target,” he said.

YTL Comms is also targeting the education sector, having already signed up 10 local universities to offer its YES wireless service.

“It goes beyond simple marketing, what we are aiming for is making fundamental changes in the industry. We are also looking to add more universities as our partners, going forward,” said Wing.

He added that YTL Comms is also looking at possibly expanding the coverage of YES to include Sabah and Sarawak.

“We are in talks with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) concerning our expansion into east Malaysia. We will announce it when there is an update,” said Wing.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 7, 2012.

Padini on expansion to drive earnings growth

In The Edge Financial Daily Today 2012
Written by Financial Daily
Thursday, 08 March 2012 11:31

Padini Holdings Bhd
(March 7, RM1.48)
Initiating coverage with a target price of RM1.80:
We initiate coverage on Padini with a “buy” recommendation and a fair value of RM1.80 based on a 10% discount to its discounted cash flow value of RM2. FY12 is turning out to be an aggressive year for Padini, due to the substantial number of store openings during the year. Thus far, four stores have been launched and six more — three each of Brands Outlet and Concept Stores — are targeted to open in 2HFY12.

This reflects Padini’s deepening market penetration and ascendency as a preferred mini-anchor for retail malls. Its strong brand equity is the pull factor in boosting retail traffic.

We forecast earnings to expand by 12% from RM75 million in FY11 to an estimated RM83 million for FY12. Earnings are expected to accelerate by 19% in FY13, boosted by the full-year impact of 10 new stores. We have assumed five new stores each for FY13 and FY14.

Sales for FY13 will get a further boost from the Malaysia Mega Sale taking place from June 15 to Sept 2 this year. Apart from the opening of new stores, we have not incorporated the collaboration with FJ Benjamin for the Vincci licence in our forecast. Discussions are preliminary at this stage. Short to medium term impact will not be significant until the size of the distribution network in Indonesia grows considerably larger.

The group has no official dividend policy but it has consistently paid out dividends of at least 30% of earnings from FY07 to FY11. We forecast an unchanged dividend payout of 30%, translating to a dividend per share of four sen and 4.5 sen for FY12 and FY13, respectively.

Padini’s market capitalisation is approaching RM1 billion. This will improve visibility and investability among the institutional funds. At present, local institutions hold at least 20% of Padini but we expect the level of institutionalisation to expand. We like Padini for its strong balance sheet, and its Brands Outlet and Concept Store are mini-anchor tenants, given their potential to increase footfall for retail malls. We have also noted Padini’s potential growth in the domestic market especially in the outskirts.

Despite its strong share price performance, valuation is undemanding because earnings expansion is significant, at a compound annual growth rate of 12% over FY12 to FY14, and free cash flow of more than 10%. At current levels, the stock is trading at an attractive price-earnings ratio of 9 to 11 times. — AmResearch, March 7


This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 8, 2012.


1Bestarinet to kick off soon

In The Edge Financial Daily Today 2012

Written by Nadia S Hassan
Tuesday, 13 March 2012 11:44

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s 1Bestarinet project is in the process of being implemented by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms), a unit of YTL Power International Bhd.

Although no official announcement had been made by the government on the project award, sources said YTL Comms has already rolled out the service to a number of schools in the Klang Valley, having started
doing so from December last year.

When contacted, a YTL Comms spokesman said: “The project was awarded based on an open tender submission made to the Ministry of Education and, whilst we appreciate the opportunity to respond, we are bound by the tender guidelines on confidentiality.”

When asked about 1Bestarinet at a recent event, YTL Comms CEO Wing K Lee declined to comment on the matter, only saying that: “We are supportive of this project by the government, and believe that it is good for the people.”

It is learned that there are around 400 schools in Selangor that are due for implementation in the coming months. The focus of the reportedly RM1.5 billion project is to provide Internet access and a virtual learning platform to 9,924 schools across the country.

“There had been question marks over the status of the project. However, it appears that YTL Comms is picking up the pace to meet the government’s goal to complete 1Bestarinet and have it available to all the schools by 2012,” said an industry observer.

The project involves the provision of both Internet access and a virtual learning environment (VLE). The tenure of the contract could be up to 15 years and would include the management of the VLE. The schools would be provided equipment and 4G dongles, while Internet access would be required to carry out the VLE.

The government announced the tender last May as part of its efforts to wire up the country’s schools.

It had been reported that six companies — Celcom Axiata Bhd, Jaring Communications, Maxis Bhd, Multimedia Synergy Corp, the team of Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Time dotCom Bhd, and YTL Comms — had submitted bids.

Then last October, YTL Comms appeared as the winner of the project, according to a posting on the Ministry of Education’s website. However, the announcement was then taken down a few hours later, according to reports.

News that YTL Comms had been awarded the contract by the government had caused a ripple in the industry. Critics questioned the award of the project, citing vague tender guidelines and YTL Corp’s lack of a track record as a service provider relative to more established industry peers that also submitted bids.

Since then, there has still been no official word on who has gotten the project, although the work has been going on for the past three months.

Regardless, this project would give a boost to YTL Comms, which is aggressively rolling out its Yes 4G WiMAX service. The company launched the service in November 2010 with great fanfare, catching the attention of the industry when YTL announced its partnership with US-based Sezmi Corp. The partnership would allow YTL the rights to deploy a hybrid TV service not just in Malaysia but also in the Asia-Pacific. YTL Comms is also reportedly among winners for the 4G/LTE spectrum, which is due to be rolled out commercially post-2013.

YTL Comms, however, is currently loss-making, according to YTL Power’s latest 4Q results. For the financial period ended Dec 31, YTL Comms recorded a net loss of RM197 million while its top line stood at RM30.6 million. For the previous corresponding period, revenue had stood at RM4.7 million, while net losses had been RM27.7 million.

YTL Power stated in its notes to the announcement: “The continuous growth in its subscriber base has resulted in an increase in the revenue of this segment. However, the losses were mainly attributable to the start-up and fixed operating cost incurred.”

There had also been talk that in order to grow its business, YTL was possibly looking to partner with other telcos. This, however, is not a new occurrence as most of the telcos have been exploring potential partnerships among themselves in order to fully utilise their spectrum and sweat their assets.

YTL, however, has yet to announce any partnership with another telco, but the spokesman is quick to point out that the company has been in discussions with other players.

“YTL Comms is constantly in talks with other players in the industry on a wide range of topics. These topics revolve around the progression of the wireless communications industry in Malaysia and how we can work together to develop strategies that benefit the consumers and the industry as a whole. This is not to say that we have specifically discussed consolidation with any party,” said the company spokesman.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 13, 2012.