SCICOM (SCIC) is a unique BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) play in Malaysia. SCIC was founded in 1997 and has not made any loss since inception. Listed in Bursa Malaysia in 2005. One of its uniqueness is its ability to offer a multinational/multi-language work force to meet the needs of its diverse client base (multi country, multi industry). From its BPO base, the company is now diversifying into CRM consulting, technology services and E-government (“digitizing of government systems”) businesses. Currently, BPO accounts for 60-65% of SCIC’s revenue and E-Government accounts for 35%. SCIC’s business strategy is to shift more towards E-Government business, which offers stronger growth potential. E-government offers (1) longer contract duration of >10 years (vs BPO’s 1-2 years), (2) stronger growth prospects of 20-30% Y-Y (vs BPO’s 5-10%) and (3) higher margins of 20% (vs BPO’s 10%).
BPO business(60-65% of its revenue):
Exposed to diversified business segments(45 corporate clients/30 languages/18 industry verticals). There is no dominant sector among SCIC’s client base. The contribution from their biggest client does not exceed more than 15% of their BPO revenue.
Customer names includes SingTel, McDonald’s, Air Asia, Lenovo, Huawei, BMW, TESCO, PEPSI, Fujitsu, etc….
SCIC’s positioning is between India’s BPO(more consulting/software) and Philippine’s BPO(basic jobs like call centers, etc). SCIC’s cost is higher than one in Philippine, But SCIC can offer regional support to MNCs using Malaysia’s young and multi-national labor forces with relatively cheap costs. China’s Huawei is one of SCIC’s customers and required for regional supports from SCIC. They don’t go to Philippine/India BPOs due to limited capabilities(languages, etc.).
E-Government business (35% of its revenue):
SCIC provides the backend engine for EMGS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Malaysian Ministry of Education. All foreign students seeking to study in Malaysia are required to apply for a student visa via the EMGS portal.
EMGS provides a one-stop visa center for foreign students. EMGS’s prospects are good as more and more foreign university branch campuses are set up in Malaysia(i.e. Iskandar).
In 2014, 54,728 applications were submitted through EMGS, Malaysia government targets 200,000 foreign students by 2020. The fee for EMGS is MYR2000/transaction.
Currently, SCIC’s E-Government customers are EMGS and Cambodia government (for digitization of Cambodia government’s system for agricultural exports).
Outlook. SCIC believes there are opportunities on EMGS data that it can capitalise on. Thus it is looking into solutions to help students including an e-commerce student store to help set up bank accounts, medical and obtaining prepaid cards. In 2014, there were 52,478 visa applications and 20,000 renewals, applications are 87% higher than in 2013. Potential earnings driver for the EMGS contract could be the influx of foreign university branch campuses such as University of Nottingham, University of Newcastle, and University of Reading , Xiamen University etc. as well as boarding schools such as Alice Smith, Epsom College, Kolej Tunku Jaafar which would be a big attraction for students from developing countries. The government would continue to take initiatives to increase the number of schools and students as education remains a crucial component under ETP to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation. With the ringgit depreciation, education in Malaysia is also relatively cheaper compared to other countries.
Valuation. SCIC is positioning itself in a niche market as a government e-service provider and this market has high barriers to entry as many competitors offer only consulting expertise but lack the technical and implementation capabilities. SCIC trades at 16x PE vs. MYEG at 20x PE, Datasonic at 23x and Prestariang at 22x PE.
Scicom started as a BPO company but has morphed into a significant e-government service player by being the sole agent to the MoE in processing foreign student visas. According to the company, it processed an estimated 66k applications in 2015. ● In 2016, Scicom said it will venture into e-commerce through “estore” by cross-selling products/services to foreign students. It will get a cut from every sale and company expects the monetisation of foreign student database to yield strong positive results. Malaysia’s e-commerce market in 2010-14 grew at a 34% CAGR. ● Net margins have been on an upward trajectory due to its egovernment business. NP was +56% YoY in FY14 and +50% in FY15. Consensus expects 22% EPS growth in FY16. In 1H16, Scicom’s EPS was +34% YoY and management expects a stronger 2H with new BPO contracts that it has recently signed on. ● Due to its asset-light business model, Scicom generates ROEs of 40-45%. Based on consensus, it trades at 19.0x FY16 P/E, offers a 3.5% dividend yield and is in a net cash position. Scicom prides itself on being more than just a call centre Scicom (Mkt cap: US$196 mn, 3M average daily value: US$0.3 mn) began operations in 1997 (listed in 2005) as a business process outsourcing (BPO) company. The competitive advantage it has over customer contact hubs, such as India and the Philippines, is its domain knowledge across vast industries and multilingual staff (30 languages). According to the company, it has served/is serving big corporate clients like Nokia, Singtel, McDonald's, AirAsia, HP, Pepsi, etc, typically under long-term contracts. Currently, it has 45 corporate clients and is not overly dependent on any single one; >70% of revenues are derived overseas. Scicom prides itself on being more than just a call centre but instead, a "mini Accenture" providing consulting and technology services, as 92% of its staff are qualified graduates. As the business model is replicable across industries and countries, it is continuously looking to expand its client base. Government contract provides concession-type income In recent years, Scicom has managed to break into a new business segment, dubbed "e-government". The Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) contract was awarded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2013 and involves Scicom providing the backend engine which processes all foreign student visa applications in Malaysia. We understand from management that it is a 10-year cost-plus concession. In 2014, Scicom processed 55k visa applications (+87% YoY) and this grew an estimated 20% to 66k in 2015. Management is upbeat on growth prospects, as the education sector in Malaysia is one of the key thrusts of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and measures are being taken to push foreign student enrolment to 200k by end-2020. Malaysia has ~618 higher learning institutions (including colleges, universities and polytechnics). Breaking into e-commerce in 2016 In 2016, Scicom will launch “e-store” which entails cross-selling products/services to foreign students. According to management, it will tie up with 1-2 telco service providers, banks and another 50-plus companies (including cinemas, F&B, retail, etc.) and Scicom will get a cut from every sale of product/service. Management expects the monetisation of the database to yield large positive results. To put this into perspective, Malaysia’s e-commerce market saw a 34% CAGR between 2010 and 2014. According to 11street and iPay88, Malaysia’s online transactions per capita doubled year on year in 2015. Net profit grew at a 27% CAGR between FY11 and FY15 Scicom's FY11-15 net profit experienced a 27% CAGR (June yearend). In FY14, NP was +56% YoY and in FY15 +50%. Net margins have been on an upward trajectory and the boost in FY14 was due to the maiden contribution from its e-government business. About 45% of profits are derived from BPO and the remainder from government contracts. Consensus expects 22% EPS growth in FY16. In 1H16, Scicom's net profit was +34% YoY and management is guiding for a stronger 2H with the new BPO contracts that it has recently signed on. The group is in a net cash position and has consistently paid dividends (77% payout in FY15). The asset-light business model also gives rise to high ROEs in the range of 40-45%. Based on consensus, the stock is trading at P/Es of 19.0x in FY16 and 16.3x in FY17, and offers a 3.5% yield. Similar companies such as MyEG and Prestariang, which also operate e-government services in the country, trade at 26.9x and 25.0x FY16 P/E, respectively.
ASIAN stocks may have rebounded from their worst start of the year, but that is not because of turnaround in the global economy.
The rebound is because of the Federal Reserve’s dovish stand on the US interest rate hike that spurred investors to search for yield outside of the US.
Libra Invest Bhd chief executive officer Jason Lee (pic) reckons that the market would continue to be influenced by any decision by the Fed.
“Any indication for an earlier-than-expected rate hike could heighten volatility again,” he tells StarBizWeek.
“Should this scenario play out, we expect to see a decline in oil prices due to the negative correlation between US dollar appreciation and oil prices,” he says.
Despite his views on the Fed’s influences on market movements, Lee says Libra’s investment strategy is not just chasing the sectors but to focus on stock-selection strategies.
“Our investment strategy is more of a bottom-up approach and tries to identify companies with resilient growth and strong balance sheet to weather the volatility,” he says.
He says the investment firm concentrate on not more than 15 stocks at a time and prefers to avoid companies that are highly geared in the current market.
“We were relatively cautious at the end of 2015 with cash holdings of over 40%. However, we have been deploying the cash since February,” he says.
Libra Invest oversees about RM5.7bil fund. The firm mainly invest in fixed income and equities. About 35% of the fund are allocated for overseas investment.
Lee says that although most of the fund allocation is on fixed income instruments, equities are the main kicker.
“The volatility in the equity market for the last six to nine months had put off some investors, but for us, it is all back to the fundamentals,” he says.
Among his main focus in stock-picking is the company’s management team, particularly in terms of the management’s strategies and outlook.
“Once you believe in the management vision, you will need to wait for the execution part. We are trying to push through a long-term value investing strategy. We get to know the companies very well, so that we don’t see the need to invest in 40 companies or more,” he says.
Although there are still deflationary pressures and economic recovery is sluggish in the developed economies, growth in the Asean countries are bolstered by infrastructure development projects and consumer growth is still robust.
“The Asia ex-Japan market looks attractive after underperforming developed market peers in recent years. Particularly Asean ex-Singapore is among the fastest-growing and most dynamic regions in the world,” Lee says.
Lee says he prefers consumer-related stocks in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia.
“Even though their valuation are higher than Malaysia, gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the Philippines and Indonesia are higher than Malaysia, at above 5%,” he says.
“Most Asean economies are dominated by domestic consumption. But what makes the Philippines stands out is its resilient economy. The country is expected to report the strongest growth this year due to its resilient business-process-outsourcing industry and foreign workers remittances as well as its low dependence on exports.
“The other major Asean countries are export-driven and highly leveraged to global trade,” he adds.
On Lee’s view on Malaysia, he reckons that the valuation is “neither cheap nor expensive, just a lack of catalysts”.
He says the overall consumer sentiments are expected to remain weak from the high cost of living due to subsidies rationalisation, the weak local currency that hurts imports and the rise in unemployment.
“However, pockets of opportunities persist especially in sectors that benefit from higher infrastructure spending and companies that offer relatively high dividend yield and resilient earnings,” he says.
Lee says one counter that he particularly likes on Bursa Malaysia is Scicom (MSC) Bhd because of its unique business structure.
“This company has evolved from a pure business process outsourcing (BPO) company into a business solutions provider. It has one of the most unique BPO business structure in the region, particularly its multi-national staff force.
“This uniqueness becomes a need in a globalised world. In addition, as the business model is replicable across industries and countries, it is continuously looking to expand its client base overseas as well,” he elaborates.
“We are negative on telecommunications and banks as they are going through some structural changes.”
Lee says volatility in the stock market and ringgit is mainly driven by crude oil prices.
“While crude oil prices are finding its floor and stabilising around US$30-US$40 a barrel, the market begins to realise that the ringgit has dropped too much too fast,” he says.
“But we believed the ringgit would not strengthen any higher from it’s current level, especially if the US eco
This company has been performing since in YR 2010. The Company has solid financial position and ROE has been more than 20% since YR 2010. I believe in those companies which have strong cash flow and good ROE, their share prices will be performing if we were to hold their shares for long term despite of the daily market fluctuation. Market weak , it only signals us to buy in more~
Hi people, hope you managed to take profit at Scicoms peak. I am quiet mostly, volatility so high. but miss scicom eventhough can be pretty slow but steady mostly.
I am an eternal optimist - if not for a RM1.36m exchange loss, they would be close to RM12m net...Good news is that cash level has increased to RM36.6m (from RM24m) - of course this is before the 2 sen dividend payment to be ex on 3rd June and payable on 21st June.
Still think this company can go very far in the long run...
I never a believer of bonus issue as it changes nothing. Liquidity comes with price, when you buy the stock up to 2.50, there will surely be plenty of liquidity.
Pardon my ignorance, what is Revenue Reserve? Do you mean retained earnings?
OTHERS MULTIMEDIA SUPER CORRIDOR MALAYSIA STATUS (MSC STATUS) GRANTED TO SCICOM E SOLUTIONS SDN BHD (1170061-P), A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF SCICOM (MSC) BERHAD
The Board of Directors of Scicom (MSC) Berhad is pleased to announce that on 11 October 2016, its 100%-owned subsidiary, Scicom E Solutions Sdn Bhd (“SES”) had accepted the grant of MSC Status by the Government of Malaysia. The Government has also approved SES’s application for the Pioneer Status Incentive under the Promotion of Investments Act, 1986 for 100% income tax exemption on statutory income derived from the MSC Malaysia Qualifying Activities (hereinafter defined) for a period of 10 years from the date of the Pioneer Certificate (an application of which shall be made within twenty-four (24) months from the date of the approval letter) subject to the Conditions of the Grant.
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This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
cch1975
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Posted by cch1975 > 2016-03-15 15:32 | Report Abuse
SCICOM (SCIC) is a unique BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) play in Malaysia. SCIC was founded in 1997 and has not made any loss since inception. Listed in Bursa Malaysia in 2005. One of its uniqueness is its ability to offer a multinational/multi-language work force to meet the needs of its diverse client base (multi country, multi industry). From its BPO base, the company is now diversifying into CRM consulting, technology services and E-government (“digitizing of government systems”) businesses. Currently, BPO accounts for 60-65% of SCIC’s revenue and E-Government accounts for 35%. SCIC’s business strategy is to shift more towards E-Government business, which offers stronger growth potential. E-government offers (1) longer contract duration of >10 years (vs BPO’s 1-2 years), (2) stronger growth prospects of 20-30% Y-Y (vs BPO’s 5-10%) and (3) higher margins of 20% (vs BPO’s 10%).
BPO business(60-65% of its revenue):
Exposed to diversified business segments(45 corporate clients/30 languages/18 industry verticals). There is no dominant sector among SCIC’s client base. The contribution from their biggest client does not exceed more than 15% of their BPO revenue.
Customer names includes SingTel, McDonald’s, Air Asia, Lenovo, Huawei, BMW, TESCO, PEPSI, Fujitsu, etc….
SCIC’s positioning is between India’s BPO(more consulting/software) and Philippine’s BPO(basic jobs like call centers, etc). SCIC’s cost is higher than one in Philippine, But SCIC can offer regional support to MNCs using Malaysia’s young and multi-national labor forces with relatively cheap costs. China’s Huawei is one of SCIC’s customers and required for regional supports from SCIC. They don’t go to Philippine/India BPOs due to limited capabilities(languages, etc.).
E-Government business (35% of its revenue):
SCIC provides the backend engine for EMGS, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Malaysian Ministry of Education. All foreign students seeking to study in Malaysia are required to apply for a student visa via the EMGS portal.
EMGS provides a one-stop visa center for foreign students. EMGS’s prospects are good as more and more foreign university branch campuses are set up in Malaysia(i.e. Iskandar).
In 2014, 54,728 applications were submitted through EMGS, Malaysia government targets 200,000 foreign students by 2020. The fee for EMGS is MYR2000/transaction.
Currently, SCIC’s E-Government customers are EMGS and Cambodia government (for digitization of Cambodia government’s system for agricultural exports).
Outlook. SCIC believes there are opportunities on EMGS data that it can capitalise on. Thus it is looking into solutions to help students including an e-commerce student store to help set up bank accounts, medical and obtaining prepaid cards. In 2014, there were 52,478 visa applications and 20,000 renewals, applications are 87% higher than in 2013. Potential earnings driver for the EMGS contract could be the influx of foreign university branch campuses such as University of Nottingham, University of Newcastle, and University of Reading , Xiamen University etc. as well as boarding schools such as Alice Smith, Epsom College, Kolej Tunku Jaafar which would be a big attraction for students from developing countries. The government would continue to take initiatives to increase the number of schools and students as education remains a crucial component under ETP to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation. With the ringgit depreciation, education in Malaysia is also relatively cheaper compared to other countries.
Valuation. SCIC is positioning itself in a niche market as a government e-service provider and this market has high barriers to entry as many competitors offer only consulting expertise but lack the technical and implementation capabilities. SCIC trades at 16x PE vs. MYEG at 20x PE, Datasonic at 23x and Prestariang at 22x PE.
At 20x PE, SCIC is fair valued at RM2.80.