Frencken Group, listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since 2005, has been named overall sector winner and has also topped this sector in returns to shareholders. In the evaluation period, Frencken’s shareholders’ returns grew at a CAGR of 22.4%.
The company, which has some 3,400 employees servicing customers from more than 50 countries, has two main business lines. The first is mechatronics, which is a one-stop solution for the design, development and production of precision-engineered systems and complete machines, as well as complex electromechanical assemblies and high-precision parts and components.
The next major business line is integrated manufacturing services, where Frencken offers integrated contract design and manufacturing services to the automotive and office automation industries. Over the years, Frencken has evolved from high-volume production, where margins tend to be thinner, to high-mix, low-volume products that require more skill and planning but tend to also command better earnings.
Wee Hur Holdings was started in 1980 as a contractor but in recent years, it has gradually expanded into property development and related activities, including operating workers’ dormitories. It has also expanded into owning property assets such as purpose-built student accommodations in Australia. In 2017, it set up a fund management arm.
For this year’s Centurion Club, it has been named as the company within this sector with the fastest growth in profit after tax. Between FY2016 and FY2019, its earnings grew from $17.3 million to $34.6 million, which translates into a CAGR of 26%.
Micro-Mechanics (Holdings), which came in tops for weighted return on equity (ROE), has enjoyed a recent lift from a more vibrant semiconductor industry. Started in 1983, Micro-Mechanics designs, manufactures and markets high-precision parts and tools used in process-critical applications for the semiconductor and other high-technology industries.
From just a small factory in Singapore, it now has five manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Malaysia, China, the Philippines and the US, and a direct sales presence in Taiwan and Europe. The company was listed on the then-SGX-Sesdaq secondary board in 2003 but upgraded to the mainboard in July 2008. For the three financial years under evaluation, Micro-Mechanics’s ROE was 28.11 times, 29.8 times and 21.82 times, giving a weighted ROE of 25.47 times.
