PETALING JAYA: Malayan Banking Bhd co-founder Gan Boon Koo has surfaced as a substantial shareholder of Chin Teck Plantations Bhd, holding an 8.6% equity interest in the plantation company.  

According to a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the 87-year-old acquired the shares on June 26 through his flagship company Gan Teng Siew Realties Sdn Bhd as the vehicle of purchase. However, Chin Teck’s (fundamental: 1.5; valuation:1) share price retreated to a 52-week low to RM8.70 yesterday after his purchase.

As at Nov 28 last year, Chin Teck’s largest shareholder was Tiong Thye Company Bhd, which held a 36.67% stake, followed by Gan Teng Siew Realties with 3.85%.

For the first six months of 2015, Chin Teck made a cumulative profit of RM10.1 million with a revenue of RM46.97 million and net assets per share of RM6.89.

The plantation group has been quite generous in its dividend payment. For the financial year ended August 2014 (FY14), Chin Teck paid a dividend per share of 42 sen compared with 26 sen in FY13. 

Chin Teck achieved a higher net profit of RM36.02 million, or 39.43 sen per share, for FY14 against RM24.9 million or 27.27 sen per share in the previous financial year. 

Gan Teng Siew Realty, on the other hand, reported a handsome RM41.9 million profit on revenue of RM178.89 million last year.

It also had cash reserves of RM397.14 million with non-current assets of RM401.74 million and current assets of RM40.42 million.

It had non-current liabilities of RM628,000 with current liabilities of RM8.39 million.

Chin Teck owns plantations in Gua Musang, Kelantan; Rompin, Pahang; and Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan with a total land bank of about 11,327ha.

The company also owns three mills with a milling capacity of 68  tonnes per hour.

It has a presence in Indonesia where it participates in oil palm joint ventures in Lampung Province, Jambi Province and South Sumatra Province.

It also had a hand in a joint venture in property development at Bandar Springheel, Negeri Sembilan.

Other companies with Gan’s interest include Chinchoo Investment Sdn Bhd, Key Development Sdn Bhd, Bidor Tahan Estates Sdn Bhd, Rengo Malay Estate Sdn Bhd, Gemas Bahru Estates Sdn Bhd, MikDavid Sdn Bhd and Malayan Jobbers Sdn Bhd.

The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profi tability 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.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 02, 2015.