CENTURION CLUB: FOOD & BEVERAGES + RETAILERS

Cortina Holdings, the homegrown luxury watch purveyor, is the clear winner among retailers. Not only did it end up tops in two categories — weighted return on equity (ROE) and returns to shareholders — it took home the overall sector title too.

Cortina is riding on a recent boom in the demand for luxury timepieces. In FY2023 ended March 31, the company reported revenue of $826.6 million, up 15% over FY2022, thanks to a strong increase in the demand for luxury timepieces.

Earnings in the same period came in at just over $69 million, up 4% y-o-y from $66.7 million. As at March 31, Cortina C41’s net asset value was $2.197 per share, up from $1.90 per share as at March 31, 2022. To reward shareholders for yet another strongly profitable year, the company paid a final and special dividend of 2 cents and 14 cents respectively.

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Cortina was founded more than half century ago by Anthony Lim, who is the company’s executive chairman. He is joined on the board by his sons Raymond and Jeremy, who are group CEO and group COO, respectively.

Besides organic growth, Cortina has been making acquisitions too. Most notably, Cortina bought Sincere Watches which continues to operate under its own distinct branding. “With Cortina’s support, Sincere Watch made headway in its brand strategy of engaging directly with boutique brands. This resulted in a notable enlargement of the portfolio, with several independent watchmakers entrusting their collections to us,” says Cortina.

Cortina cautions that growth in the current year might soften, no thanks to inflation and the effect of the war between Ukraine and Russia. “Nevertheless, our robust balance sheet, strong cash position and healthy operational cash flow stand us in good stead to safeguard against external events,” the company maintains.

Bumitama Agri, a regular winner at the Billion Dollar Club (BDC) awards, is back again. The Indonesia-based palm oil company was founded back in 1996 and was listed here on the Singapore Exchange S68 in 2012. Five years before its listing, Malaysia’s palm oil giant IOI acquired a stake of 33%. As at end of 2022, its total planted area of 187,628ha is spread across Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and Riau.

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With constant R&D and using the best cultivation practices, Bumitama Agri P8z says it aimed for higher yields and extraction rates, giving it a crude palm oil (CPO) yield of 4.8 tonnes per ha in 2022.

Over the past decade, Bumitama Agri’s CPO production volume increased at a CAGR of 9.9%, which helped grow its revenue more than fivefold from 2011 to 2022 or a CAGR of 17%. Earnings grew at 12.7% CAGR over the same period.

The company maintains a low net gearing ratio of 0.23x and pays out 40% of its earnings as dividends. Its most recent full-year payout for FY2022 of 7.8 cents was a record and more than double the eight-year average. “The rising dividend payment over the years is a good indication of our commitment to pursue long-term value maximisation to shareholders,” says Bumitama.