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Appasia_RCE-Capital_Charts_32_deW006_theedgemarketsNotable filings

Between Aug 24 and 28, notable shareholding changes filed with Bursa Malaysia included those at ACE Market-listed Appasia Bhd, where executive director Toh Hong Chye emerged as its single largest shareholder.

Swift Icon Sdn Bhd, Appasia’s former largest shareholder with a 19.3% stake as at March 31, ceased to be a  substantial shareholder on Aug 26 after disposing of 13.5 million shares, or a 4.8% stake, to Toh’s Richmond Virginia Tobacco Sdn Bhd at 13.5 sen apiece — an 18% discount to the closing price of 16.5 sen that day.

Filings show Swift Icon had, between July 30 and Aug 26, sold a 14.5% stake for RM5.18 million or 12.9 sen apiece on average. The highest price was 18 sen each for 3.75 million shares on July 30 and the lowest was 10 sen apiece for 13 million shares on Aug 10.

Toh, who emerged as Appasia’s (fundamental: 0.60; valuation: 0) substantial shareholder on June 25 with a direct and deemed stake of 5.25%, had raised his holdings in the ICT security solutions provider over the past two months to 21.34% as at Aug 26. Toh was also the buyer of the 9.85 million shares sold by Swift Icon for 14 sen apiece on Aug 20.

Another notable filing was Innofarm Sdn Bhd’s move to increase its stake in Takaso Resources Bhd (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0.30) to 7.65% by buying 1.72 million shares at 51.9 sen apiece on Aug 24. Innofarm emerged as the condom and baby care accessories manufacturer’s substantial shareholder on Aug 14 after buying 14 million shares or a 6.82% stake.

Innofarm is the investment vehicle of the Yap family that founded poultry firm Lay Hong Bhd (fundamental: 0.75; valuation: 1.40). Interestingly, Innofarm had recently bought a 7.34% equity stake in loss-making pottery and porcelain products manufacturer Spring Gallery Bhd (fundamental: 2.40; valuation: 0.30). Takaso and Spring Gallery have separately announced their intent to venture into construction and property development activities.

 

Notable movements

AHB Holdings Bhd (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0.90) saw its largest shareholder Dexx Technologies Sdn Bhd halve its stake in the office furniture trader in one week.

Dexx pared its stake from 17.53% to 8.96% after selling 13.73 million shares in three tranches on Aug 11, 12 and 17. Dexx sold another 7.7 million shares on Aug 18 and ceased to be a substantial shareholder. Mohd Fairuz Khalid and Muhamad Fazil Khalid also ceased to be AHB Holdings’ substantial shareholders by virtue of their interest in Dexx.

It is noteworthy that AHB Holdings’ share price was on the decline when the disposals took place. It closed at 19 sen on Aug 11 when the first block of shares was sold but ended at 16.5 sen on Aug 18 when the last of the four blocks was disposed of.

The disposal took place ahead of AHB Holdings’ announcement on Aug 28 of its financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2015. Net profit jumped 68.1% year on year to RM336,800 while revenue improved 40% to RM3.26 million. Earnings per share, however, fell to 21 sen from 38 sen following a recent rights issue but net asset value per share rose to 17.1 sen from 10.9 sen over the same period.

Closing at 38 sen last Wednesday, RCE Capital Bhd’s shares are up 24.6% year to date. Filings show Cempaka Empayar Sdn Bhd continued to accumulate the non-bank lender’s shares. On Aug 21, Cempaka Empayar acquired another 55.5 million or a 4.8% stake in RCE Capital, bringing its total shareholding to 61.35%. This is up from 56.98% on July 15.

The latest acquisition was conducted off market, with shares of RCE Capital (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 2.0) crossing at 38.5 sen apiece or at a 1.28% discount to that day’s close of 39 sen. Cempaka Empayar is wholly owned by Amcorp Group Bhd, which in turn is wholly owned by  Clear Goal Sdn Bhd, which is controlled by Tan Sri Azman Hashim.


Note: 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. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

This article first appeared in Capital, digitaledge Weekly, on September 7 - 13, 2015.

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