Mermaid cuts losses on KM-1

Mermaid Maritime announced on 21 June that it had sold off its stake in the KM-1 tender rig project, which has been plagued with delays. The disposal will result in a loss of US$7.35 million to the company, about a $0.013 hit to tangible book value of approximately $0.72.

The KM-1 was expected to be a key source of earnings going forward, which explains the sharp selloff following the news. While the move is highly disappointing, valuing the company based on its book value (and huge cash horde) shows that the stock now trades at a 35% discount to book (factoring in the loss on KM-1). At such a steep discount, we are reluctant to sell, but we are cognisant that how management deploys its current cash holdings (as well as the cash to be received for the disposal transaction) will be critical to the company's success.

The stock has certainly been a major disappointment, but the company is likely to have over $110 million in cash at the end of 2010 (current market value is $365 million), and we will watch to see what opportunities this cash horde will buy at the end of the year. We are not keen on adding to our small holding in the company given the lower conviction we have in the management (which recently saw the departure of its Managing Director), but will look to see how the company deploys the vast funds it has at its disposal.

Portfolio gains 2.1% in June, STI up by 3%

Our portfolio gained 2.1% in a turbulent June (to $0.999 a unit), underperforming the STI's 3% gain. The portfolio is essentially flat (-0.1%) for 1H 2010, while the STI is 0.6% lower on a total return basis. Key contributors to the portfolio's performance were Memtech International (+15.8%), Berkshire Hathaway (+13%) and Best World International (+11.5%), while Wells Fargo (-10.8%) and Noble Group (-5.5%) were key detractors.

Wells Fargo slugged, but Berkshire Hathaway surges

US equities were some of the worst-performing stocks in June, as economic data largely surprised on the downside. Wells Fargo was a key "beneficiary" of the poor sentiment on the sector which had largely stemmed from fears over European debt crisis contagion effects, and the weak US housing market served to dampen sentiment on the stock even further. With financial reform focusing on credit card issuers (and the maximum interest they are allowed to charge), many expect bank bottomlines to feel some form of negative impact. At US$24.88 (on 2 July 2010), the stock trades at just 1.21X book value and we may scoop up more shares on the cheap if a market panic ensues, perhaps sparked by negative newsflow from European bank stress tests.

On the other hand, Berkshire Hathaway gained 13% in June, as Buffett showed his ability to pick football teams as well as he picks companies. His insurance unit reportedly insured Carrefour against losses (the retailer reportedly had a promotion where they would refund customers of flat screen televisions if France won the World Cup), and avoided a $30 million loss as France exited the competition in the first round.

Interesting to note, but obviously, this was not the reason for the run-up in Berkshire stock in June. The stock was added to the Russell 1000 index on 28 June, and made up about 1.1% of the index upon inception. Fund managers and index funds which track the Russell 1000 had to purchase the stock, driving up the stock's price over the course of June, even as the overall US market slumped. While this was obviously a good time to sell, we continue to like the company's philosophy (and of course, its management) and are reluctant to sell out. The stock may experience weakness after fund managers have had their fill, but we continue to hold the stock for its long term potential, rather than try to benefit from its short term fluctuations.

K-Green Trust dividend in specie

Keppel Corp went ex-dividend for the dividend-in-specie of K-Green Trust shares (1 share per 5 shares of KepCorp). Based on our 351 shares of KepCorp shares, we will receive 70 shares of the new entity.

Best World share buyback

Best World International today announced that it has bought back 131,000 shares at $0.335 per share, for a total consideration of $43,977.75. This is not a huge sum (relative to its cash position of $39.56 million, or $0.1918 per share!), but the buyback dominated the daily trading volume of 299,000 shares, making up 43.8% of total traded shares. Liquidity for the stock is relatively poor, possibly a key factor preventing institutional investors from considering the stock as a potential investment.

In a second announcement today, the company also announced that it has received in-principle approval for the proposed listing of bonus warrants and shares. Further details on the issue will be given at a later date.

"S-Chipped" (Reprise) 2010

The latest Fujian Zhenyun saga is a saddening reprise of the many blow-ups which occured in the S-Chip space in early 2009. FerroChina, Fibrechem, Beauty China, Sino-Environment, Oriental Century, Celestial Nutrifoods, China Milk and China Sun are just some of the troubled companies which have run into trouble, and have since been suspended (or are pending delisting).

Earlier in 2009, S-Chips fell like flies, succumbing to a mix of fraud/accounting irregularities, an inability to meet liabilities or in several cases, the forced sale of shares which had earlier been pledged by a major shareholder of the company (and yet, not disclosed to the Exchange).

An Early Warning in September 2008

In what was to be one of the most timely warnings issued by a brokerage, JP Morgan actually released a report dated 18 September 2008 where 21 S-Shares with a market cap of over US$200 million were screened for potential warning signs - just eight passed without any warning bells (Cosco Corp, Yanlord Land, Delong Holdings, People's Food, China Fishery, Hsu Fu Chi, China Aviation Oil and Epure Intl). Interestingly, all eight are "alive" and relatively healthy today (Delong Holdings appears to be doing the worst, but it was never a great business to begin with, in our opinion).

A 30% hit rate!

The other stocks flagged by JPM were Yangzijiang, China Hongxing, Li Heng Chemical, Centraland Ltd, FerroChina, Synear Food, China Sky Chem, China XLX Fertiliser, Fibrechem Tech, China Milk, Pacific Andes Hldg, Celestial Nutrifoods, Midas Holdings. While some of these 13 stocks have not done too poorly since (YZJ, XLX, Midas), it is shocking that JPM's simple analysis of potential warning bells managed to spot 4 troubled companies (FerroChina, Fibrechem, China Milk and Celestial Nutrifoods), a "hit rate" of over 30%! FerroChina shares were actually suspended in October 2008, less than a month after the report emerged.

DBS Vickers states the obvious

As S-chips continued to implode in early 2009, owning S-chips was akin to stomping around a minefield. If you were lucky (and your company wasn't the one in trouble for any particular day), you merely had to suffer collateral damange as investors fled from the sector (and who can blame them!). A (largely redundant)12 March 2009 report by DBS Vickers ("Navigating a Chinese minefield") only served to rub salt into bleeding wounds; the damage had already been done! Former market darlings like Beauty China, Fibrechem Tech and Sino-Env had already run into trouble by then, while the Celestial's inabiltiy to meet impending liabilities from its putable convertibles was already well-documented by then.

Avoiding the S-Chip space

Our familiarity with most of the S-chip names comes from having actually being invested in a handful (yes, a handful!) of them at some point of time. Naively, we took balance sheets and accounting statements at face value. Low single-digit PEs, net cash exceeding market capitalisation, book values exceeding market value by several multiples - we interpreted this as a buying opportunity of a lifetime. It was indeed a tremendous buying opportunity, but not in S-Chips.

When one is unable to trust financial statements and the management's integrity is suspect, we see absolutely no reason to seek out opportunities in the S-Chip space. While we scrutinise balance sheets to assess financial integrity of companies we invest in, we remain cognizant of our limitations (little or no accessbility to company management). Therefore, most of our investments are in larger-cap established companies where corporate governance is not an issue. For our smaller-cap investments, we prefer to avoid the S-Chip space completely, and prefer to choose companies incorporated in Singapore.

"CONFESSIONS of a S-Chip CEO" is lengthty, but essential reading for those who still seek investments where many fear to tread. Whether the letter is real or a fake is a moot point, but it serves as a warning that in the financial world, money can be made in zero-sum games of financial innovation, and investors will do well to avoid being the patsy in the poker game.

 

Noble invests in palm oil

Noble invests in palm oil origination in Indonesia

14 June 2010, Hong Kong

Noble Group (SGX: N21), a global supplier of agricultural, energy, metals and mineral products, has acquired a 51% stake in PT. Henrison Inti Persada ("Company"). The Company intends to develop approximately 32,500 ha of land for palm oil production in Sorong Regency, West Papua Province, Indonesia.

The transaction is Noble’s first project in the oil palm sector and establishes a strong platform for the Group to expand and increase its investments in this area in the future. The investment enables Noble to expand its edible oil supply chain and secure a continuous flow of crude palm oil.

The Company is to be registered as a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (“RSPO”). The RSPO are an organisation whose membership is made up of, amongst others, palm growers, palm oil producers, retailers, investors in the sector and environmental/conservation NGOs. The RSPO promotes the production of palm oil in a sustainable manner based on economic, social and environmental criteria.

“We focus our investments on areas that are synergistic with our businesses both in terms of product and geography,” said Noble Group Executive Chairman Richard Elman. “This move into palm oil plantations will complement our global agriculture and energy businesses. Our operating experience in Indonesia should prove to be an asset in helping us manage this and future projects.” He added, “With increasing convergence between agriculture and energy, this investment is a clean fit for the Group’s diversified portfolio.”

This transaction is not material for the purpose of the Singapore Exchange Listing Rules.

Noble Group today announced its investment in palm oil, further diversifiying its agriculture and energy business by acquiring a 51% stake in PT. Henrison Inti Persada (HIP). HIP is one of four palm oil plantation companies which are under the Kayu Lapis Indonesia Group. While the 32,500 ha plantation to be developed may be small in comparison to listed peer's Golden Agri's 427,253 ha (more than 13 times the size!), it will still provide decent revenue potential.

 

A hectare of oil palm can yield between 3.5 to 5 tonnes of crude palm oil a year, so going by this assumption, HIP's site has the potential to produce between 113,750 and 162,500 tonnes of CPO a year, generating revenue of US$84 to US$120 million each year, based on current CPO spot prices of about US$741 a tonne. As a gauge of the value of this investment, a simplified analysis of First Resource's balance sheet yields biological assets carried at US$1,065,800,000; based on 113,000 ha of plantations, this works out to about US$5,000 per hectare, which indicates that PT. Henrison Inti Persada's plantation could be worth about US$162 million. Granted, since the plantation will require further investment for development (it is not yet plantable, and further investments in processing plants will have to be made), Noble's initial investment is likely only a fraction of its estimated US$80 million share.

 

  

 

New position: Courage Marine

We purchased 18,000 shares of Courage Marine today at $0.185, adding a new position to the portfolio. The BDI has fallen from its lofty peaks of 10,000+ points in late 2007 and early 2008, and now resides at about 3,200 points (after hitting a low of 663 in Dec 08). Dry bulk shipping rates have been volatile, and it is not surprising that a shipping firm like Courage Marine which depends on spot rates for charters has seen extreme volatility in its revenues over the past two years. Revenue plunged from US$90.5 million in 2007 to US$27.94 million in 2009 as shipping rates collapsed, and baring some exceptional items, the company was loss-making in 2009.

Given the extremely cyclical and uncertain nature of dry-bulk shipping, why then are we making an investment in this particular company? First, while we are no experts on timing the shipping cycle, it is probably more accurate to say that we are nearer the trough of the cycle than the peak. Most shippers are trading near or below book value, and we have yet to see a convincing return of profitability in the dry bulk segment. The time to buy cyclical stocks is when they trade at extremely high PEs, or when they are loss-making; the time to sell is when they trade at low PEs, indicating that peak earnings have been achieved.

Second, we like the company's conservative and unique approach to dry bulk shipping. Typically, companies choose to lock in long-term COAs when freight rates are high (eg. Mercator Lines), and often purchase newly-builds for such long-term charters. While this appears like a safe way to generate income, the approach fails to account for the potential of reneging by the charterer, especially when rates have plunged substantially. More often that not, the shiponwer is left with little choice but to lower the contracted rate, or face the prospect of fighting a long and expensive lawsuit. Courage Marine deals largely in the spot market, and to a lesser extent with COAs.

However, the company's fleet is exclusively made up of old ships - the average age of its fleet is bearing on 30, which is usually when a ship gets scrapped. Because of its focus on older vessels, the company has avoided overpaying of expensive new vessels, and avoids the long delays for newly-builds to arrive. In a prudent manner, the company has expended its fleet from 4 vessels in 2001 to 10 currently, and yet has maintained its net cash position (think Wheelock Properties Singapore), a rarity in the shipping industry where leverage is often used with reckless abandon.

While having a fleet of older ships comes with higher maintenence costs, the company has managed to keep operating costs low (operating costs rose just 65% in 1Q 10, compared to the 158% increase in revenue). Also, since its ships are depreciated on a 30-year basis, the residual book value of its fleet is minimal, compared to the book value of a much newer fleet (eg. Mercator Lines). It is highly likely that some of the older vessels are being carried at minimal value (since their age exceeds 30, there is only drydocking left to depreciate), despite their ability to generate income. At about 1.2X book, we think that the stock is rather cheap.

While most other shippers were attempting to slash their fleet and cancel newly-build contracts, Courage Marine managed to capitalise on the shipping downturn by purchasing several vessels at fire-sale prices (old ones, of course). The low prices paid mean that the company requires little debt (most vessels are funded by internal resources), and even allows the company the flexibility to scrap vessels when steel prices rise (the company scrapped a capesize vessel for a quick profit of US$400,000 in just a little over a month).  

The company has paid out a healthy stream of dividends since its IPO, and even paid out a US$0.00472 dividend for 2009, a year where the company barely broke even. We anticipate that if shipping rates see a rebound, it will not be surprising if the company is able to fund a dividend in excess of 10% (based on our purchase price).