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.

Accumulating Wilmar on price weakness.

When I revealed my top investments earlier this year (read related post #2 at the end of the blog), some were surprised that I had a relatively large investment in Wilmar International which isn't a typical investment for income.

Of course, long time readers of ASSI would know that not all investments in my portfolio are for income although almost all lean in that direction.




Why Wilmar?

There are not many companies in the world like Wilmar when it comes to agricultural products and their distribution. 

Wilmar has amazing breadth and depth of operations. 

Its distribution network is extensive, established and still growing. 

It is a truly impressive business entity.

Potential investors should note that Wilmar is still a growth story and there continues to be quite a lot of CAPEX. 

This will continue to impact its earnings for some time to come.

In the meantime, however, they are profitable and they do pay dividends.

Since I am quite happy to be paid while I wait to benefit from their future growth, the recent decline in Wilmar's share price is an opportunity for me to accumulate.

Similar to my investment thesis for BreadTalk, I believe that when the CAPEX at Wilmar tapers off which they one day would, Wilmar's fantastic scope and scale of business would send its earnings soaring.

And while BreadTalk's extremely high PE ratio was rather unpalatable at the time when I became an investor (read related post #1 at the end of the blog), although not strictly comparable, Wilmar is currently trading at a much lower PE ratio of about 15x.

To put this in perspective, at its highest, Wilmar closed at S$7.11 a share in January 2010. 

Based on the full year earnings per share in 2009, it represented a PE ratio of above 20x.

It is important to point out that, in 2010, Wilmar's NAV per share was about 22% lower than what it is today. 

Paying S$7.11 a share then would have been a huge premium to NAV (US$1.85 per share) back then. 

Comparatively, there is more value backing each share in Wilmar today. 

This is an important distinction to make. 

Wilmar is a more valuable business entity today than it was in 2010.

Paying $3.30 a share is relatively inexpensive as I am paying a relatively small 2% premium to NAV (US$2.38 per share). US$1.00 = S$1.36.

I am also paying a lower price than what Archer Daniels Midland Co paid about a year ago to hike its stake in Wilmar from 20% to 22%, paying S$3.38 a share. (Reference: Reuters.)

Having said this, Wilmar's share price is currently in a downtrend and it could decline further and, if that should happen, I will be quite happy to accumulate again.

Finally, investors in Wilmar must be of the patient variety. 

When CAPEX tapers off, that is when Wilmar will be able to pay more generous dividends. 

Patience, I believe, will be rewarded.

See Wilmar's AR: HERE.

Related posts:

1. Investing in BreadTalk.
2. My investment portfolio.