Dai Yung Huei, the largest shareholder of Asian Pay TV Trust (APPT), has seen his stake in the business trust rise via a series of open market purchases since late last year.
The most recent acquisitions were made on Jan 18 when Araedis Investment, which Dai and his wife Wang Hsueh-Mei controls, acquired 200,000 units at 13.8 cents each and another 740,000 units at 13.9 cents.
With the purchases, Dai and Wang have a deemed stake of nearly 328.1 million units, equivalent to 18.163%. Based on the series of filings made by the company, Araedis has been actively buying since late last year.
Between Jan 4 and 17, Araedis was in the market for six trading days. The number of units bought on each day ranged between 95,200 units on Jan 7 and as high as 1.27 million units on Jan 4. They were all acquired for between 13.6 cents and 13.8 cents each.
APPT is the first listed business trust in Asia focused on pay-TV and broadband businesses. Its investment mandate is to acquire controlling interests in and to own, operate and maintain mature, cash generative pay-TV and broadband businesses across the region. Its only investment is Taiwan Broadband Communications Group (TBC), is a leading cable operator in Taiwan which is owned and managed by APTT Management, the trustee manager of APTT.
In 3QFY2021 ended Sept 30, 2021, the trust reported earnings of $4.6 million, up 2.1% from $4.5 million reported for 3QFY2020. Revenue in the same period was down 0.6% to $75.5 million. In 3QFY2021, the trust declared a DPU of 0.25 cents. This was consistent with the preceding quarters.
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In its earnings announcement, APPT says it will hold this same level of payout for 4QFY2021 ended Dec 31, 2021, as well as this same quarterly distribution rate for the current FY2022, “subject to no material changes in planning assumptions”.
Higher demand for chemicals
Megachem’s managing director Sidney Chew Choon Tee also saw an increase in his stake in the company. On Jan 14, he had acquired 15,000 shares for 43 cents each. This brings his direct interest to nearly 46.96 million shares.
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In addition, Chew has a deemed interest in another 444,296 shares, which brings his total stake in the company to around 47.4 million shares, equivalent to 35.558% of the company. The latest transaction follows his purchase of 100 shares on Jan 7 at 43 cents each and his Christmas Eve acquisition of 2,000 shares for 42 cents each.
In 1HFY2021 ended June 30, 2021, the company reported earnings of $3.78 million, up 37.9% from $2.7 million a year ago. Revenue was up 26.7% to $65.9 million, thanks to stronger demand for the chemicals produced and distributed by the company. In line with the better earnings, the company has declared a dividend of 0.8 cents per share for 1HFY2021, up from 0.5 cents same time last year.
In its 1HFY2021 earnings commentary on Aug 12, the company notes that “on the back of improved business sentiments, the chemical industry is also seeing an uptick in activities along with firmer chemical prices even though current supply shortage and high freight cost may cap its growth”.
Property group sees insiders increase stake
The Wee family controlling UOL Group has seen an increase in its stake in the property and hospitality player. On Jan 12, their vehicle Wee Investments, acquired 100,000 shares at an average of $7.0088 each, raising the stake to 130.14 million shares or 15.413%.
Earlier on Jan 10 and 11, Wee Investments had snapped up 278,000 shares at $7 each and 168,000 shares at $6.99526 each. The recent buying is a continuation from last year. On Dec 27, Wee Investments had acquired 27,000 shares for $6.99985 each.
On Aug 12, UOL Group reported earnings of $91.3 million for 1HFY2021 ended June 30, 2021, a reversal from a loss of $82.1 million in the year-earlier period, as the company booked a smaller quantum of fair value losses. Revenue was up 31% to $1.2 billion from last year, thanks to higher contributions from both developments and investments.
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