Invest in property developers? My portfolio.

Oh, no! Another short blog?

Although I like undervalued investments, there is always the possibility of such investments staying undervalued for an extended period of time.

Some readers might have noticed that this is usually the case with property developers.

My preference is, therefore, to invest in property developers that are able and have shown a willingness to reward shareholders with meaningful dividends.

The wait can be a long one and being paid while we wait makes it more affordable for most people.

Although individually my investments in property developers are definitely not big enough to be in my list of largest investments, collectively, they could be.

In late 2019, I shared the list of property developers I was invested in.

They were the following:

1. Guocoland

2. Ho Bee Land

3. Hock Lian Seng

4. OUE

5. Perennial Holdings

6. Tuan Sing

7. Wing Tai

The list has shrunk as I let go of my positions in Tuan Sing, Perennial Holdings and OUE. 

Tuan Sing was sold a few years ago when its share price rose to what I felt was fair value. 

Perennial Holdings was delisted and I made a small gain in the process a few years ago. 

OUE was a very small investment in the list and it wasn't very impactful. 

So, I let go of that investment and used the money to increase my exposure to our local banks instead.

For a while now, I have been left with the following property developers in my portfolio:

1. Guocoland

2. Ho Bee Land

3. Hock Lian Seng

4. Wing Tai

With interest rates much higher today, property developers are unlikely to do much better than before.

However, these four companies are undervalued and they should still be able do well enough to pay meaningful dividends.

I like being paid while I wait.

For example, Wing Tai Holdings which is trading at close to 70% discount to NAV is offering a 4% dividend yield.

It is like Warren Buffett buying socks at a huge discount but it doesn't stop there because the socks, in this case, pay us for wearing them!

Having said this, I am not increasing exposure to property developers although I am more than comfortable to hold on to my existing investments.

Related posts:
1. Perennial Holdings stock spikes!
2. Invested in Tuan Sing Holdings.
3. Hock Lian Seng should be 69c.
Recently published:
Fixed income strategy. My plan.

Quek Leng Chan ups stake in Guocoland. Is AK buying? (How much exposure to property developers does AK have?)

Someone asked me if I would be increasing my investment in Guocoland recently as it is still trading at a big discount to NAV.

In fact, he also asked if I would be increasing my exposure to the property sector since interest rates look like they will stay low for some years to come.

Although I like undervalued investments, there is always the possibility of such investments staying undervalued for an extended period of time.

Some readers might have noticed that this is usually the case with property developers.






My preference is, therefore, to invest in property developers that are able and have shown a willingness to reward shareholders with meaningful dividends.

The wait can be a long one and being paid while we wait makes it more affordable for most people.

Guocoland is a pretty good fit.

Since becoming a shareholder of Guocoland, I have received three rounds of 7c DPS.

Dividend yield is about 3.8%.

That is pretty decent for a property developer.








I became a shareholder of Guocoland in 2017.

That was when I noticed persistent insider buying and decided to do an incomplete analysis.

Then, I decided to invest in Guocoland which was trading at a hefty discount to valuation. 

Well, there is more insider buying now.

Following recent purchases, Mr. Quek Leng Chan's stake in Guocoland increased to almost 72%.

Although paying a price of $2.05 a share is more than 10% higher compared to what we paid back in 2017, the price is still a big discount to the NAV of $3.47 a share.






I am quite happy to hold on to my investment in Guocoland but I won't be adding now.

Reason?

Although individually my investments in property developers are not big enough to be in my list of largest investments, collectively, they are.

So, which property developers am I invested in?

They are:

1. Guocoland
2. Ho Bee Land
3. Hock Lian Seng
4. OUE
5. Perennial Holdings
6. Tuan Sing
7. Wing Tai

(If you want to read my past blogs about these entities, click on their names above as they are hyperlinked.)






Based on market value, together, they probably account for a sizable chunk of my investment portfolio.

For a retiree like me, I feel that is enough exposure to property developers.

For sure, I do not know when value would be unlocked and this unknown makes limiting the total investment exposure to 10% of my portfolio or lower sensible.

What if value is not unlocked in my lifetime?

Hmmm...






Although I am not interested in increasing my exposure to property developers, I have increased my investment in the property sector by putting more money into the following business entities not too long ago:

1. IREIT
2. Centurion
3. Accordia Golf Trust

(If you want to read my past blogs about these entities, click on their names above as they are hyperlinked.)






It should be obvious that the ability to generate a meaningful recurring income stream has always been an important consideration for me.

It has become more so as I grow more settled into my early retirement.

Of course, I am only doing what makes sense to me.

Others have to do what makes sense to them.

Oh, totally unrelated, I watched the following video by CPFB and had a good laugh:





Related post:
Largest investments updated (4Q 2019).

Invested in Tuan Sing Holdings.

When a reader asked me what I thought about Tuan Sing Holdings as it trades at almost 60% discount to NAV, it got me interested enough to take a closer look because this is something I think I understand.

I approached this in a way that is similar to my approach to investing in Guocoland. 

Substantial shareholders, the Liem family, and also Koh Wee Meng of Fragrance Group together hold a 60% stake in Tuan Sing. 







It is interesting to note that Mr. Koh's purchase price in 2014 was 43c a share and Tuan Sing's NAV per share then was 68c.

Based on its Annual Report for 2016, Tuan Sing's NAV per share grew to 77c and its stock is now trading at a lower price than in 2014. 


On the face of it, therefore, Tuan Sing is worth more today and with a lower share price, it is more undervalued than before.





Why is this so?

Tuan Sing's earnings have been in decline and Mr. Market probably doesn't like that. 

To top it off, Tuan Sing's gearing level is pretty high and interest cover ratio has also weakened from 14x in 2012 to just 2.2x in 2016.

At the current price level, there seems to be plenty of value waiting to be unlocked but it also seems to be thornier an investment.

We must remember that undervalued could stay undervalued for some time. So, it would be good to be paid while we wait. 




Do they pay dividends?

Tuan Sing pays a dividend but it is nothing to shout about. How much? 0.5 cent to 0.6 cent a share. 

Assuming a purchase price of 33c a share, we are looking at a dividend yield of 1.5% to 1.8%. 

Anyone who buys into Tuan Sing for income has to be mental. 





1.5% to 1.8% is lower than the 2.7% dividend yield from Guocoland based on an entry price of $1.83 a share and that was not an ideal investment for income either.

We know that property developers usually have pretty lumpy earnings but I am most interested in the fact that Tuan Sing has a relatively big portfolio of investment properties in Singapore, China and Australia.

Therefore, like Guocoland, Tuan Sing has the potential to become a more attractive investment for income investors if future payouts should increase together with any increase in future cash flow. 




Of course, this is somewhat speculative as it is anyone's guess what the Liems have in mind.

Source: Tuan Sing Holdings Limited.

To continue along this line, Tuan Sing's portfolio of development properties is pretty small at less than 10% of its total portfolio value. This reminds me of OUE Limited which I also have a relatively small investment in.

A big reason probably why Tuan Sing's gearing level is so high, their earnings is much reduced and, consequently, their interest cover ratio is so poor is because quite a big portion of its investment properties are still under development. They have yet to generate any income.




It stands to reason that once Tuan Sing's investment properties are fully completed, once they start generating income, earnings will improve and, significantly, it is worth noting that this will be recurring income which is something investors for income look for.

Of course, Tuan Sing still have development properties to sell but since that business is a relatively small portion of their entire portfolio, if they should sell well, it is the icing on the cake. If they don't sell well, it is not going to be a disaster either. 

Cake without any icing, anyone?




Tuan Sing is another asset play and if the valuation is to be believed, they are a pretty heavily undervalued asset play too. 

Just like my investments in OUE Limited, Wing Tai, PREH and Guocoland, my investment in Tuan Sing is only a nibble because it could be a long wait before value is unlocked.




In the news this year:
Sime Darby Centre purchased
and
Tuan Sing's earnings tumble 64%.
Related posts:
1. Guocoland analysis.
2. PREH analysis.
3. OUE Limited analysis.
4. Wing Tai Holdings analysis.