Did you miss some stuff AK shared on Facebook in July?

I don't blog as much as I used to but I am actually still quite active in Facebook.

As I started being active in Facebook pretty late as a blogger, I think many of ASSI's readers don't follow me on Facebook. They probably use other means to follow my blog. After all, I have been blogging for almost 6 years but I have been active in Facebook for only about 2 years.

So, from now, I think I will try to share periodically in my blog what I share on my Facebook wall. However, if you think you might get to read something profound, you would probably be disappointed.

The stuff which I post on my Facebook wall which don't appear in my blog are usually nothing cerebral. They are just stuff for fun and laughter most of the time.

See for yourself:

AK is honest, isn't he? ;p

Oh, a bonus pic, from a few days ago:

In case you didn't get the joke, read this:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/breadtalk-temporarily/2028008.html

BreadTalk on Tuesday (Aug 4) said it has “temporarily stopped selling” bottled soya bean milk touted to be "freshly prepared" after an employee was caught repackaging ready-made soya bean milk into plastic bottles. The move comes after a photograph published by alternative news site Redwire Times sparked a firestorm online. “This ‘freshly prepared’ soya bean milk from BreadTalk always tasted very familiar, but somehow I couldn’t figure out why until now...

Hope you enjoyed this light hearted blog post.

HAPPY SG50. :)

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1. Seven money habits of mine. See habit no. 1.
2. How to recession proof your life?
3. Green is not just the colour of money.

NeraTel: 2Q2015 and an interim DPS of 2.5c.

In my last blog post on NeraTel, I cautioned against judging the business based on quarterly results because annualising any one quarter's results would not give an accurate picture of business performance. I made the remark based on what I remember the CEO said in an interview:

"In an interview that NeraTel's CEO, Samuel Ang, gave to The EDGE, some time ago, he said that it is important to remember that revenue recognition could be lumpy because NeraTel is generally a project based business." 

NeraTel has announced an interim dividend per share (DPS) of 2.5c on the back of rather encouraging results for 2Q 2015, quite different from the rather gloomy numbers in the preceding quarter.

Revenue for 1H2015 ($90.5m) improved some 7.2% over 1H2014 ($84.4m).

Although the numbers are encouraging, it is only fair to say that NeraTel is still faced with challenges which are forcing them to accept lower margins.

Note that gross profit margin reduced from 35.1% to 33.1%, although it is still above 30% which is pretty good for any business. At the end of the day, NeraTel is still a profitable business although profit after tax reduced 13.1% for the first 6 months of the year, year on year.

NeraTel has plenty of cash which is one of the reasons why it is attractive to income investors. This is also the reason why it is able to pay out 2.5c in interim DPS although its 1H2015 EPS is 1.93c, Part of the dividend payout is, therefore, a return of capital.

Many moons ago, I said that anyone who thought a yearly DPS of 6c for NeraTel was sustainable must have been on drugs. I said that a yearly DPS of 4c was more realistic.

To be quite prudent, however, for anyone who is interested in investing in NeraTel for income today, a DPS assumption of 3c or 3.5c per annum could be a better idea. In such an instance, based on a closing price of 67c a share, we are looking at a dividend yield of 4.48% to 5.22%.

NeraTel, with plenty of cash, low debt and a good track record, remains, for me, a relatively good investment for income. I am quite happy to be paid while I wait. Yes, my bet is on Mr. Samuel Ang bringing his years of experience to bear and delivering better results eventually.


Related posts:
1. NeraTel: Is 1Q2015 a sign of things to come?
2. NeraTel: What is a sustainable dividend payout?