Raffles Medical Group has kept up the steady pace of share buybacks. The most recent acquisition was on Dec 11 when the company bought 200,000 shares at $1.07 each on the open market. This brings the total number of shares bought back under the current mandate to 5.4 million, equivalent to 0.2903% of the total share base.
The recent buybacks followed its 3QFY2023 ended September business update on Nov 6 when the company reported 67.4% lower y-o-y earnings of $12.4 million. Revenue in the same period was down 24.6% y-o-y to $161.6 million. This brings its 9MFY2023 earnings to $72.8 million, down 25.6% y-o-y, on the back of a 14.7% drop in revenue to $532.4 million.
Raffles Medical says the lower 3QFY2023 earnings were due to its exceptional performance in the year-earlier period when the group was providing pandemic-related services that have since been wound down. In addition, cost inflation had also chipped into its margins.
While the group is seeing more patients in China where it has a significant presence, the two hospitals there are still in the “developmental phase” and still incurring gestational costs. It is trying to see where it can rationalise its operations for better efficiencies.
Earlier this year, Raffles Medical announced plans to go into Vietnam by taking a controlling stake in a hospital there, in a bid to grow another key overseas market besides China.
In its 3Q business update, the company says it remains cautious about the “dynamic market development” in the markets where it operates and that the “uncertain global economic situation” combined with higher inflation and interest rates remain “a substantive concern”.
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Raffles Medical expects to remain profitable in the current FY2023. “We are focused on growing in a value-accretive manner and improving the operational leverage of our existing businesses,” says executive chairman Dr Loo Choon Yong.
Collective sale gain
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Alfred Wong Siu Hong, managing director of Noel Gifts International 543 , is actively adding to his stake with a series of acquisitions in the open market. The most recent was on Dec 8 when Wong acquired 80,000 shares at 26.5 cents each. This brings his direct interest to just over 29.39 million shares, equal to 28.68%.
Wong has a deemed interest in another 18 million shares held by his family, giving him a total interest of just over 47.39 million shares or 46.25%.
Noel Gifts stands to pocket a big one-off gain from proceeds from the collective sale of a property, 50 Playfair Road, which was first announced on Sept 25. The company now owns 10 units within the development.
News of the collective sale has sent Noel Gifts shares from a 52-week-low to a 52-week-high in just two months.
In an update announcement on Nov 24, Noel Gifts says that an unnamed “medium-sized developer” agreed to pay $81.18 million for the property. Noel Gifts’ share of the proceeds is estimated to be $30.61 million.
On a pro forma basis, the sale would lift the company’s NTA per share as at June 30 from 30 cents to 46 cents. At the same time, earnings would also increase to $16.12 million from 0.22 cents per share.
Wong started his recent series of buying on Oct 5. Subsequent buying was done on Oct 9, Oct 17 and Dec 7, when he acquired 30,000 shares for $7,950 or 26.5 cents each.
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On Aug 24, the company announced earnings of $871,000 for its 2HFY2023 ended June, 67.8% lower compared to 2HFY2022. Revenue in the same period was down 14% y-o-y to $10.9 million. This brings its FY2023 earnings to $225,000 versus $2.9 million in FY2022 while revenue was down 10.3% y-o-y to $18.5 million.
Noel Gifts attributes the lower earnings to a lower volume of gifts sold and higher costs due to supply chain issues. However, this was offset by higher rental income.
In its earnings commentary, the company cautions that the operating environment remains challenging amid falling demand and rising costs. “The group is adopting various new marketing and sales strategies to increase our sales,” says Noel Gifts. For FY2023, it has declared a special dividend of 0.6 cents. In contrast, the company paid a first and final dividend of 0.3 cents and a special dividend of 1.2 cents for FY2022.
