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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 26, 2015.

 

Chow-Hung-Keey_FD_26oct15_theedgemarketsKUALA LUMPUR: Inix Technologies Holdings Bhd expects to end its loss-making days after its financial year ended July 31, 2015 (FY15) in the current financial year (FY16), as it diversifies into other businesses to reduce dependence on its information technology (IT) business.

Its executive director Chow Hung Keey said Inix is looking to diversify into dredging and land reclamation services.

The ACE Market-listed company is set to complete a RM7.2 million acquisition of a 30% stake in Galactic Maritime (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a dredging and land reclamation services provider.

On March 16, Inix entered into a conditional share sale agreement with Galactic Yield Enterprises Ltd for the proposed acquisition.

The proposed acquisition came after the company scrapped its plan to diversify into the mining business in Indonesia last year due to changes in policy there.

Chow said the company sees the potential in Galactic Maritime, adding that prospects for the dredging and land reclamation services industry in Malaysia remain bright.

Citing a report from independent market researcher, Smith Zander International Sdn Bhd, Chow said the land reclamation business in Malaysia is expected to reach RM2.8 billion this year.

With several large development projects in the pipeline, he expects this could generate demand for dredging and land reclamation services for at least the next five to 10 years.

“In Malaysia, there are a lot of developments involving reclamation works, particularly in Penang, Melaka and Johor. This gives us an opportunity to venture into the business,” he told The Edge Financial Daily in an interview.

Founded in 2010, Galactic Maritime is principally involved in the provision of reclamation dredging and environmental protection dredging services. It owns five vessels with an average fleet age of eight years. The fleet consists of a suction dredger and four conveyor sand pump vessels.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, Galactic Maritime’s vendors guarantee Inix that the former will achieve a net profit of at least RM4 million for the period from April 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015, and a net profit of at least RM3 million for FY16.

However, the proposed deal has raised eyebrows given that Galactic Maritime’s net profit shrank by 68.16% to RM574,766 for FY14 ended March 31 from RM1.79 million in FY13.

Chow said Galactic Maritime is in negotiations with several parties from Melaka and Johor to replenish its depleting contracts. Currently, the company is handling two projects in Melaka with a total net book value of RM10 million.

On its part, Inix is also looking to clinch land reclamation works for the Melaka Gateway development, the Pengerang Petroleum and Maritime Industrial Park in Johor, and Phase 2 of Seri Tanjung Pinang in Penang.

Despite being bullish on the sector, Chow said Inix is looking at only a 30% stake in Galactic Maritime for now.

“A 30% stake is good enough for us to share the profit. We will remain as an IT company, with expectation that the proposed venture [in Galactic Maritime] will in the future contribute 25% or more of its net assets and/or net profit,” said Chow.

“We do not want to simply jump into a business without first assessing whether the proposed acquisition will fit into our direction and strategy going forward,” he explained.

Inix plans to fund the acquisition through a proposed rights issue of up to 278.2 million new rights shares with 208.6 million warrants, which will raise RM27.82 million.

Chow said another RM5.5 million of the proceeds from the proposed rights issue will be set aside to buy a new vessel for dredging and land reclamation activities, and the rest for Inix’s IT business expansion and working capital.

On its core business, Chow said the company intends to expand its footprint into the development and commercialisation of mobile gaming Apps to bring more value to its shareholders.

According to him, the IT sector remains robust, driven by strong demand for data communication services amid a high usage of mobile devices, particularly smartphones.

Apart from developing its own mobile gaming Apps, Chow said Inix is also in negotiations with several renowned and award-winning local mobile gaming developers for a possible merger and acquisition exercise.

“We have been in talks with several of them for months, but so far nothing concrete has been agreed. There are still many details to be ironed out,” he said.

“If it is possible, we would want to hold a controlling interest, but it is still dependent on how the negotiation goes. They are also in talks with other global players too [and] the vendors are still deciding the best offer,” Chow said.

“Management is of the view that the positive outlook for mobile gaming and improving IT infrastructure provide opportunities for our company to tap into the mobile gaming sector.

“Therefore, we expect it (a possible acquisition) to enhance our IT business,” he added.

Inix narrowed its net loss to RM44,000 in FY15 from RM1.37 million in FY14. Revenue improved to RM5.23 million from RM4.95 million.

Trading in Inix (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0) shares has been volatile over the past one year, which saw its share price rise 150% to close at 13.5 sen last Friday from a low of 5.4 sen on Dec 17, 2014, with a market capitalisation of RM56.33 million.

Year to date, Inix’s share price has risen 32.3%, outperforming the FBM KLCI’s 50.32% decline.


The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations. Go to www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

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