INSTITUTIONS were net buyers of Singapore stocks over the five trading sessions through to Jan 11, with S$166 million of net institutional inflow, as 19 primary-listed companies conducted buybacks with a total consideration of S$5.4 million.

CapitaLand Investment led the consideration tally, buying back 1,072,100 shares at an average price of S$3.00 per share on Jan 10. The company has now bought back a total of 22.47 million shares, or 0.44 per cent of its issued shares excluding treasury shares, under its current mandate. CapitaLand Investment will be reporting its FY2023 results prior to the Feb 28 open.

OUE bought back 430,200 shares at an average price of S$1.17 per share, and has now bought back 0.49 per cent of its issued shares excluding treasury shares, under its current mandate.

Leading the net institutional inflow over the five sessions were Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, United Overseas Bank, Sats, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, DBS Group Holdings, Sembcorp Industries, Singapore Exchange, Hongkong Land, Genting Singapore, and UOL Group.

Meanwhile, Keppel DC Reit, Singtel, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Seatrium, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, iFast Corporation, Keppel, Nanofilm Technologies International, Lendlease Global Commercial Reit, and Dyna-Mac led the net institutional outflows.

The five trading sessions brought more than 50 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for over 20 primary-listed stocks. Directors or chief executive officers filed 12 acquisitions and no disposals; substantial shareholders filed 10 acquisitions and two disposals.

Accrelist

Between Jan 4 and 9, Accrelist executive chairman and managing director Terence Tea acquired 2,365,900 shares at S$0.039 per share. With a consideration of S$92,816, this increased his direct interest in the Catalist-listed company from 22.43 per cent to 23.19 per cent. He is also deemed interested in the 4,359,100 issued shares held by his wife, Aileen Sim. This brings his total interest to 24.59 per cent.

Tea is responsible for the overall growth of the group, and his main role is to determine its strategic direction and acquire and nurture new businesses, while driving the formulation and implementation of business plans and strategies. Tea’s comprehensive knowledge and experience of the industry has aided the group to spot growth opportunities, especially during its restructuring period from 2013 to 2017.

Accrelist continues to actively pursue new opportunities, with a growing focus on medical aesthetics.

In addition, as a majority shareholder, Accrelist currently holds a controlling stake in Jubilee Industries Holdings, a one-stop solutions provider within the electronic manufacturing services space. Through its mechanical business unit (MBU), Jubilee engages primarily in precision plastic injection moulding and mould design and fabrication services.

Tea also serves as the executive chairman and CEO of Jubilee. Accrelist has also provided support to Jubilee in terms of market expansion, cost-review exercises and capital control improvements.

Accrelist is organised into four major operating segments: financial technology; the electronic components distribution business unit; MBU; and aesthetic medical services (AMS). For its H1 FY2024 (ended Sep 30), Accrelist reported revenue of S$8.3 million, S$1.6 million less than the S$9.9 million in H1 FY2023.

The group’s AMS segment contributed S$6.2 million of the S$8.3 million revenue reported for H1 FY2024. Accrelist noted its AMS segment is supported by resilient demand in an expanding market, with favourable long-term prospects.

The company added that amid an ageing population with rising affluence, the growing acceptance and accessibility of minimally invasive procedures has opened up new opportunities, as younger customers and men begin to seek aesthetic treatments.

The MBU segment in turn contributed S$1.7 million of the S$8.3 million revenue reported for H1 FY2024. This segment provides mould design and fabrication services for consumer electronics, household appliances, automotive and computer peripherals, as well as precision plastic injection moulding services for their customers’ finished products.

The company noted in November that the MBU segment would continue to focus on its strategy of diversifying its customer base and expanding its product offering with higher margins, such as the development of submodule assemblies for automotives, to increase revenue amid the general automotive industry slowdown.

JB Foods

Goi Seng Hui, the vice-chairman and non-independent, non-executive director of JB Foods, increased his stake in the company by buying 119,000 shares at S$0.49 each on Jan 4. This raised his total interest from 24.64 per cent to 24.68 per cent. His last purchase was on Oct 16, when he bought 10,000 shares at S$0.48 each.

JB Foods reported a 15.5 per cent increase in profit after tax, from US$7.3 million in H1 FY2022 to US$8.4 million in H1 FY2023. The CEO of JB Foods said that the group was able to grow and attract more customers in all regions despite the difficult and uncertain business conditions.

He also said that JB Foods was implementing its strategy effectively and expanding gradually through its existing capabilities and facilities, as well as developing its own sustainability resources and road map.

Baker Technology

On Jan 4, Baker Technology executive director Benety Chang acquired 50,200 shares at an average price of S$0.52 per share. With a consideration of S$26.104, this increased his total interest in the company from 55.77 per cent to 55.79 per cent. His preceding acquisition was on Sep 19, with 67,700 shares acquired at S$0.545 per share.

He is the major shareholder of the company and was last re-elected as director on Apr 28, 2023. He was director and chief executive of Baker Technology from May 2000 to December 2018. He has extensive experience in the offshore oil and gas (O&G) industry, and was the major founding shareholder and chief executive of PPL Shipyard until his resignation in July 2012.

The principal activities of Baker Technology are investment holdings and the provision of specialised marine offshore equipment and services for the O&G industry.

Beng Kuang Marine

On Jan 5, Beng Kuang Marine chief executive Yong Jiunn Run acquired 300,000 shares at an average price of S$0.068 per share. With a consideration of S$20,400, this took his direct interest in the company from 4.29 per cent to 4.44 per cent.

His preceding acquisitions in 2023 were on Nov 16, with 200,000 shares acquired at S$0.058 per share; on Aug 30, he acquired 250,000 shares at S$0.065 per share; and on Jul 4, he picked up 100,000 shares at S$0.07 per share.

Yong’s responsibilities include making major corporate decisions, developing and steering corporate plans, and implementing business directions and strategies for the group.

This year marks 30 years since Beng Kuang Marine was founded. The group is currently pursuing a transformation to an asset-light and service-oriented business model, with recurring revenue streams anchored by its infrastructure engineering and corrosion prevention businesses.

As reported in November, the group’s 9M FY2023 (ended Sep 30) revenue increased 21.4 per cent from 9M FY2022 to S$53.25 million, mainly driven by the revenue contribution of its infrastructure engineering and corrosion prevention business divisions. This was despite negligible revenue contribution from its supply and distribution and shipping business divisions, which are being streamlined and phased out accordingly.

Notably, the group highlighted that its infrastructure engineering business division continued its strong growth performance for 9M FY2023, with a service-centric business model that aims to create new value propositions and recurring income streams within the offshore and marine market.

For its 9M FY2023, the group’s gross profit increased 115.8 per cent from 9M FY2022 to S$16.03 million, with a net profit of S$2.73 million in 9M FY2023 from its continuing operations, compared to a net loss of S$1.85 million in 9M FY2022.

Yong noted that the group maintained positive organic growth, with its core infrastructure engineering and corrosion-prevention business divisions delivering strong performance, providing good momentum in a turnaround.

He added the group’s strategy is delivering – demonstrated with the strength of its underlying performance and monetising efforts – and it remains confident that it is well positioned to create high-value growth within the marine and offshore industry.

On Dec 21, the group announced it had completed the partial disposal of its shipyard in Batam, and received the remaining amount of the consideration of approximately S$8.9 million in cash. The group is completing the second partial disposal of its shipyard in Batam for an aggregate consideration of S$8.64 million.

Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.

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