Dr Loo Choon Yong, executive chairman of Raffles Medical Group, and Olivier Lim, the company’s non-executive and non-independent director, recently bought more shares of the company on the open market.
On Feb 22, Loo, who founded the company more than four decades ago, acquired 1.5 million shares at an average price of $1.0227 each. He now holds a total of nearly 977 million shares, or 52.393%, up from 52.312% previously.
On the same day, Lim, who was a former CFO of CapitaLand, acquired 134,000 shares at $1.025 each and another 60,700 shares at $1.02. Lim now holds a total of 441,016 shares, equivalent to 0.02%, up from 246,316 shares prior to the transaction.
The two Raffles Medical directors bought the shares on the same day the company reported a stronger bottom line for FY2020 ended Dec 31, 2020. Earnings rose 9.4% to $65.9 million, from $60.3 million in FY2019. Revenue was up 8.8% to $568.2 million, with growth largely driven by its healthcare services division.
“Looking forward, we will continue to reinvest in our business, drive efficiencies across the group’s operations and strengthen core capabilities to transform Raffles Medical Group to be the healthcare company for the future,” says Loo.
The company plans to pay a final dividend of two cents per share, which will bring its FY2020 payout to a total of 2.5 cents, which is the same as FY2019. In its earnings commentary, Raffles Medical says that with effect from the current FY2021, it plans to consolidate its interim and final dividends into a single annual core dividend of up to half its average sustainable patmi. “Where appropriate, after the consideration of a core dividend payment, share buybacks, the financial resources needed for continued growth and the gearing level of the group, the board may consider paying a special dividend. This is in recognition that the group is in a growth phase, with low gearing and an intention to grow earnings on a per share basis, reflecting a holistic capital management framework. This framework was also used in the decision not to offer a scrip dividend option for this year,” the company adds.
Earnings down from IPO expenses
Kevin Koo Chiang, founder and executive chairman of newly listed Credit Bureau Asia, on Feb 25 acquired 1.07 million shares from the open market for a total consideration of nearly $1.5 million, or an average of $1.399 per share. Koo now holds a total of 156.2 million shares, or 67.8% of the company, from 67.3% previously.
In FY2020 ended Dec 31, 2020, Credit Bureau Asia reported revenue of $43.4 million, up 6.8% from $40.6 million reported for FY2019. However, FY2020 earnings was $6.8 million, down 2.6% from $7 million recorded in the preceding FY2019, as it was weighed down by one-off IPO expenses of nearly $1.4 million.
“Going forward, we will continue to grow our business in Singapore. We also expect to grow our regional footprint to new countries and identify new areas of opportunity for the group,” says Koo.
PC to property player
Edmond Tan Tiow Hee has emerged as a substantial shareholder of IPC Corporation, which has transformed from a PC maker into a property player. According to a filing dated Feb 24, Tan acquired 3.75 million shares for $517,500 in a married deal. The identity of the seller was not disclosed. As a result, Tan now holds 7.5 million shares, or 8.79%, double from 4.39% previously.
On Jan 29, IPC Corp reported losses for FY2020 ended Dec 31, 2020, widened 70.2% to $28.4 million from losses of $16.7 million in FY2019. Revenue was up 51.8% to 5.4 million from $3.6 million. The losses were largely due to fair losses booked for the company’s hotel and property business in Japan and China.
