Best World

[dreamybear]

Recap :

Grp Revenue(SGD million / rounded to whole num)
FY2014 = 75
FY2015 = 102
FY2016 = 201
FY2017 = 214 (restated)
FY2018 = 266

Notes :
- BW's 30th anniversary is in 2020.
- For comparsion, Amyway is 60 yrs old , with 2018 revenue of USD$8.8b(Ref : https://mediaguide.amwayglobal.com/at-a-glance/).
- For earlier years of revenue, pls refer to the graphic diagram in Post#18 - do note that unlike in recent years, the past revenues were NOT in a straight 
  line growth trajectory, hence pls keep a balanced view.  

TW Revenue(SGD million / rounded to whole num)
FY2014 = 23
FY2015 = 56
FY2016 = 123 
FY2017 = 82 [decrease due to changes in strategies implemented & stiff market competition / frequent online discounting]
FY2018 = 86

Notes :
- Looks increasingly unlikely that BW can achieve its previous target of FY2020 TW revenue NT$10,000m (SGD $440m) - ref Post#283
- TW DS top players in 2015, No.1 Amway NT$11.7b, No.10 Avon NT$2.1B (pg 36 of 2016 Corporate Presentation)  
- For comparison, Amway TW's 2015 revenue is SGD$490m - ref Post#325 ; Nuskin HK/TW's 2018 revenue is USD$185.9m (SGD$257m)
- Strong presence in Central & Southern of TW, but mkt in Northern is bigger; BW ranked 9th DS company in TW in 2016 ... according to presentation

CN Revenue(SGD million / rounded to whole num)
FY2014 = 13
FY2015 = 20
FY2016 = 58
FY2017 = 110
FY2018 = 145

Notes :
- RHB BW Initiation 23 Oct 2018 "Put Your Skin In the Best Game" : BW aims to capture 5% of China skincare mkt by FY2022, i.e. CNY 10 billion(SGD
  $1.96b) ;  China's premium skincare mkt is 7x of TW ;  China's per capita skincare expendituer is USD22, compared to Asia's average of USD70, HK/TW of
  USD311/USD92 respectively.
- For comparison, Nuskin China's 2018 revenue is USD$886m(SGD$1.2b) with 304k customers(up from 193k in 2017 & 175k in 2016) & 33.1k sales leaders 
  as at 31 Dec 2018. However, Nuskin got its China Direct Selling licence as early as 2006* and has a different China business model to BW.
- Is BW China an "overnight" success ? Well, way back in BW AR2004 pg31, it was mentioned several strategies were put in place for eventual entry into PRC(DS).

* https://hrasiamedia.com/companys-write/u...n-nu-skin/

Cash / Cash Eq(SGD million / rounded to whole num) 
FY2015 = 47
FY2016 = 55
FY2017 = 82 
FY2018 = 197

Net Profit(SGD million / rounded to whole num) 
FY2014 = 4m
FY2015 = 10m  
FY2016 = 34m 
FY2017 = 55m  
FY2018 = 73m (EPS : 13.26c & DPS : 1.2c(interim) + 4.2c(Final) + 0.8c(Sp))

Ref : Boon's compilation @ Post#651 & BW Results Announcement

Food for Thought

Barring any negative findings from independent review, there is a good chance to achieve another record full year results for FY2019(4Q is always the strongest quarter.)  

Nevertheless, we ought to be ever mindful that all good things probably come to an end one day - the growth-peak issue had been discussed much earlier in this thread (Post #33x) and in Post #338, d.o.g. had helpfully provided the peaks of several competitors for reference.

Items pending updates :
- Tuas plant completion status(can help to avoid tariffs / lower pdn costs, & also pdce Halal-certified products which can help boost the Indo mkt)
< afternote : 01 Oct 2019 corporate presentation pg24 - commissioning 1Q2020 >
- Future plans with Celligenics(hopefully this A*star spinoff is more promising than the previous Prolife Biobank / Celcott Biobank JV)
- Mthly updates on WeChat post views(http://www.bestworld.com.sg/publication-...ecret.html)

Qns for mgmt :
- What is the waiting list/ growth plans for China franchisees for geographical expansion coverage ? There r currently 33 franchisees(as at 31 Mar 2019 & 30
  Jun 2019) spread over 11 provinces & 1 municipality(vs 28 as at 31 Dec 2018). According to Wiki, China has 23 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous 
  regions, and 2 Special Administrative Regions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_China).
- Does the mgmt see the possibility of TW repeating its previous peak revenue of 123m in FY2016 within the next 1-2 yrs ?
- What is the business strategy for expanding into South Korea / Japan(likely M&A) given that these countries are already saturated with many well known 
  and more established leading brands(which are also endorsed by mutliple celebrities) ? Perhaps target the lower tier cities like China strategy* ?

* https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/c...ling-stock & https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/...ty-culture

------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Results 1H2019

Highlights :
1. For 2Q2019, 197% growth in revenue to $98 million, compared to $33 million in 2Q2018.
2. For 2Q2019, 194% growth in net profit to $26 million, compared to $9 million in 2Q2018.

3. For 1H2019, 163% growth in revenue to $151 million, compared to $57 million(re-stated) in 1H2018.
4. For 1H2019, 150% growth in net profit to $37 million, compared to $15 million(re-stated) in 1H2018.

5. GPM up : 78%(1H2019) compared to 74.8%(1H2018).
- For comparsion, Nuskin GPM ard 76%. (YCharts).
6. NPM down : 27.2%(1H2019) compared to 27.6%(1H2018).
- For comparsion, Nuskin NPM ard 7%. (YCharts).
Do note that Nuskin is much larger and present in more countries than BW.

7. Net Operating Cash Flows before tax largely unchanged from $32.6m(1H2018) to $33.1m(1H2019).
8. Net Operating Cash Flows after tax decreased from $26.8m(1H2018) to $19m(1H2019). 
"Inventories increased from $31.4 million as at 31 December 2018 to $51.3 million as at 30 June 2019 mainly due to building up of inventories in our Hunan branch in China and headquarters in Singapore as we expect higher demand in 2H2019"
9. Net Cash Flow decreased to -$1.55m(1H2019) from $7.9m(1H2018) ; Net Cash Flow(FY2018) = 114.8m

10. For 1H2019, 150% growth in EPS to 6.77 cents, compared to 2.77 cents in 1H2018.
11. DPS 1.2 cents, ex-div : 21 Aug 2019(stk is suspended till further notice).

12. As at 30 Jun 2019, the Group has abt $195* million in cash and cash eq($197m as at FY2018). Based on 550m shares and last traded price of $1.36(before suspension),
- Cash represents abt 26% of mkt cap. (BW has negligible debt) ; Cash Per Share = $195m / 550m = $0.35
- Enterprise Value(mkt cap - cash) / Revenue =  [ (550m x $1.36) - $195m*] / $266m** =  2.08
- Enterprise Value / Profit = [ (550m x $1.36) - $195m*] / $72m** = 7.68

*Do note however that FY2018 Final+Sp Div(550m x $0.05 = $27.5m) haven't been paid yet due to delayed AGM(FY2018) as a result of the independent review.
**Based on FY2018's revenue / profit

13. As at 30 June 2019, BW has :
(a) 101,580 members for its direct selling business, representing a 2.7% increase when compared to 1Q2019.
(b) 33 franchisees(grouped by areas based on BW website, eng translation attached) :

     - Fujian Province(1) : 福建省福州市仓山区(Cangshan District, Fuzhou City**, Fujian Province)
        Population of 38.56 million in Year 2017(Source : Wiki)

     - Guangdong Province(3) :  广东省潮州市湘桥区(Xiangqiao District, Chaozhou City***, Guangdong Province), 广东省东莞市(Dongguan City*,
       Guangdong Province), 广东省中山市(Zhongshan City**, Guangdong Province)
       Population of 113.46 million in Year 2018(Source : Wiki)

     - Guizhou Province(3) :  贵州省贵阳市(Guiyang City**, Guizhou Province), 贵州省贵阳市南明区(Nanming District, Guiyang City**, Guizhou Province, 
        贵州省遵义市汇川区(Huichuan District, Zunyi City***, Guizhou Province)
         Population of 34.75 million in Year 2010(Source : Wiki)

     - Henan Province(2) : 河南省驻马店市(Zhumadian City***, Henan Province), 河南省郑州市(Zhengzhou City*, Henan Province), 
       Population of 95.32 million in Year 2013(Source : Wiki)
    - Hunan Province(4) : 湖南省长沙市岳麓区(Yuelu District, Changsha City*, Hunan Province), 湖南省邵阳市(Shaoyang City****, Hunan Province), 
        湖南省长沙市天心区( Tianxin District, Changsha City*, Hunan Province), 湖南省怀化市鹤城区(Hecheng District, Huaihua City****, Hunan Province),
        Population of 67.37 million in Year 2014(Source : Wiki)  

     - Jiangsu Province(1) : 江苏省昆山市(Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province)
       Population of 80.4 million in Year 2018(Source : Wiki)

     - Yunnan Province(1) : 云南省昆明市(Kunming, Yunnan Province)
       Population of 55.97 million in Year 2010(Source : Wiki)

     - Zhejiang Province(3) : 浙江省宁波高新区(Ningbo High-tech Zone, Zhejiang Province), 浙江省丽水市(Lishui City****, Zhejiang Province), 
        浙江省瑞安市(Ruian City, Zhejiang Province) 
        Population of 57.37 million in Year 2018(Source : Wiki)

      - Changsha(2) : 长沙市雨花区(Yuhua District, Changsha City*), 长沙市开福区(Kaifu District, Changsha City*)

     - 潮州市潮安区(Chao'an District, Chaozhou City) 

     - Chongqing(3) : 重庆市南岸区(Nan'an District, Chongqing*), 重庆市黔江区(Hanjiang District, Chongqing*), 
        重庆市大渡口区 (Dadukou District, Chongqing*)

      - Guangzhou(2) : 广州市天河区(Tianhe District, Guangzhou*), 广州市越秀(Guangzhou Yuexiu District*)

     - 成都市温江区(Wenjiang District, Chengdu)
     - 东莞市虎门镇小捷滘社区(Xiaojie Community, Humen Town, Dongguan City)
     - 哈尔滨市南岗区(Nangang District, Harbin City)***
     - 河南自贸试验区郑州片区(Henan Free Trade Zone Zhengzhou Area) 
     - 新疆(Xinjiang)
     - 佛山市南海区(Nanhai District, Foshan City)

*1st tier / new 1st tier, **2nd tier, *** 3rd tier, **** 4th tier (tier cities info from https://www.chinacheckup.com/blogs/artic...city-tiers)
To get a feel on how this translates geographically -> https://www.chinadiscovery.com/china-map...l-map.html

Short Summary(BW BT Clarification 23/02/2019) : "As at the date of this Announcement, the Group has 33 Franchisees in locations such as Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guangdong, Henan, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Hunan, Guizhou, Fujian, Jiangsu, Yunnan and Chongqing. These locations are mostly tier-2, tier-3 and tier-4 cities in China. The Company believes that there is significant growth potential for the premium skincare market in China’s tier-3 and tier-4 cities due to increasing urbanisation rates and growth of disposable income per capita in these cities." Ref : http://bestworld.listedcompany.com/newsr...38SA.1.pdf

14. China(1st primary mkt - approx 60% of total revenue)
"In line with Group’s last announcement, revenue from China grew by 905.3% in 2Q2019 vis-à-vis the same period last year, mainly due to the fact that Franchise revenue in 2Q2018 only registered in the last weeks of the  quarter. Revenue from Franchise is primarily fuelled by underlying demand for the Group’s product offerings especially our skincare line, DR’s Secret. In 2Q2019, more than half of the shortages  arising  from 4Q2018 and 1Q2019 have been fulfilled. Management expects the remaining shortages to be fulfilled in 2H2019 and at the same time to be able to meet market demand."

15. Taiwan(2nd primary mkt - approx 26% of total revenue)
"Revenue from Taiwan grew 41.6% in 2Q2019 when compared to 2Q2018. Vis-à-vis the same period last year, this translates to a growth of 33.9% for 1H2019. Although there was a price increase in January 2019, demand for our product offerings increased due to several factors which include, continuous effort in optimizing online to offline(O2O) interactions  between distributors and their online followers, upgrading and skills training and improved distributors’ incentives."

16. Forward Looking Statements(Section 10 pg17)  :
"The slow down inglobal economic growth, trade tensions between China & US, EU & Indonesia, Brexit  negotiations etc, have added uncertainties to the global economy. Such  uncertainties will inevitably lead to cautious consumers’ sentiments and may negatively impact the Group’s performance; As a result of the US-China trade disputes, China responded by raising the import duties of US made skin care products from 11% to a range of 19% to 26% and most recently, by weakening the RMB. Such measures may reduce the profitability of the Group’s China subsidiaries; ..."

Results Details :
1H2019 - https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/BWG%20Q22...eID=574344
3M2019 - http://bestworld.listedcompany.com/newsr...JTSL.1.pdf
FY2018 - https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/2019%2002...eID=545112

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fun facts / Updates

(1) 1st 2 pdts distributed by BWL when company first started
Posted on BW FB 6 Aug 2019
(Ref : https://www.facebook.com/bwlglobal/photo...861496430/)

(2) Corporate Milestones
Post #218

(3) D2's 24 years challenge - Photos of them young and present (BFF !)
Posted on BWL TW FB 20 Jan 2019
(Ref : https://www.facebook.com/tw.bwlgroup/pho...307655270/)

(4) Roll out collection from TW 7-11 outlets
Posted on BWL TW FB 2 Aug 2019
(Ref : https://www.facebook.com/tw.bwlgroup/pho...787380919/)

(5) Asked participants of the Singapore NDP 2019 to try Dr Secret Sunscreen 5 - hopefully can increase awareness
Posted on Dr Secret FB 13 Aug 2019
(Ref : https://www.facebook.com/drssecretoffici...566917563/)

(6) BWL's 30th Anniversary Celebration in 2020 to be held in home country S'pore
Posted on BWL TW FB 24 Jul 2019
(Ref : https://www.facebook.com/tw.bwlgroup/vid...627824277/)

[dreamybear]

Just rec'd notification of BW Announcement via email - I don't really understand what the issue is abt(title is worrying; 1st time encountering this kind of announcement for div payment, I guess probably needed some audit due to the ongoing review). For the benefit of fellow shareholders, just to let you know - I checked my CDP statement and was very relieved that the full 1.2c dividends(actual amt is unchanged) are through(pay date is supposed to be today http://bestworld.listedcompany.com/newsr...62R4.1.pdf ).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Interim Dividend Review
Aug 28, 2019 18:15

On 13 August 2019, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Best World International Limited (the “Company”) announced the declaration of an interim one tier tax-exempt dividend of 1.2 cents per share in respect of the six-month period ended 30 June 2019 (the “Interim Dividends”).

The Board engaged the Company’s auditors, Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”), to conduct certain agreedupon procedures (“AUP”) in respect of a list of significant cash receipts from the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) during the period from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019 as identified by management and agreed by the Audit Committee (“AC”). The AUP conducted by EY were to agree key details of the significant cash receipts identified by management and agreed by the AC to the Company’s monthly bank statements and remittance advices.

No adverse findings were reported by EY in relation to the AUP performed.

http://bestworld.listedcompany.com/newsr...IR8L.1.pdf

[pencilin]

BW's result is too impressive, that it looks a little like "money game" aka pyramid selling.

[dreamybear]

Latest update : Further extension of time of 4 months till 29 February 2020 to convene the AGM.  Looks like 2 AGMs will be held quite closely to each other next year.

"Update on the Independent Review

The Group has dedicated significant time, costs and human resources towards assisting and cooperating with the Independent Reviewer in order to complete the Expanded Review as early as possible. However, completion  of  the  Expanded  Review  has  been  delayed as  the  Primary  Import  Agent  only  agreed  in  late October  to  grant  the  Independent  Reviewer  access  to  all  the  documents  requested  following  lengthy negotiations.  

Following  the  Primary  Import  Agent’s  agreement  to  provide  the  Independent  Reviewer  access  to  the documents requested, the Independent Reviewer travelled to Changsha, China to undertake its review of the  additional  documents  made  available.  The  Company  understands  that  more  time  will  be  needed  to complete  the  review  of  such  documents,  as  the  Primary  Import  Agent  will  require  more  time  to  retrieve these  documents.  The  Company  is  fully  committed  to continue  working  closely  with  the  Independent Reviewer to address any further queries that the Independent Reviewer may have in connection with the Expanded Review..."

[¯|_(ツ)_/¯]

On 25 June 2019, the agreement from SGX was based on the condition that bestworld convening the AGM by 31 October 2019.
- 31 October 2019 passed and no AGM.

On 1 Nov 2019, another extension was given until 29 Feb 2020 due to Dora's brother-in-law withholding information that's requested by the auditor (among other reasons).

I was re-reading Bonitas's paper when I'm flying back yesterday.
That re-ignite my interest to check out Bestworld again.
Because Bonita's paper did not really address my concern.

Now, I just read Valiant Varriors's paper and it's closer to my concern.
(link to post #1004)

Given these 2 papers, I'm also keen to see whether auditor will address issues highlighted in both Bonitas and Valiant Varriors paper.
If it is then I am guessing that it will be very ugly.



I wonder, I really think hard.
Why such a big dis-connect?

=========== Signature ===========

感恩 Really appreciate all valuebuddies for helping me.

[kelvesy]

1. Share count is 544,100,114 (30 Sep 2019) versus 549,395,114 (31 Dec 2018). A reduction of 0.96%.

2. Gross Profit Margin fell from 81.7% to 68.9% because of increased custom duties, increased filling/bottling/packaging charges, freight and handling charges.

The import duties of US made skin care products went up from 11% to 31%. Best World got hit badly in this.

2. In 3Q 2018, the company had an one-time royalty income of $9.1M which made the comparison difficult. See my attachment for clarity.

3. Admin expenses kept tight. Not much change.

4. Share of losses in Celligencis of $75k

5. [QoQ comparison] Singapore grew 30.9%, China grew 172%, Taiwan grew 27.1%, Indonesia fell by 19.7% and Others grew by 35.6%.

6. Related party transaction, the wife of Huang Ban Chin provided services to Best World worth $206k.

*Judging by the inventory value, 4Q should do well.*

[¯|_(ツ)_/¯]

Thanks Kelvin.

I read the usual 3rd Qtr report yesterday.
(clink for BWL Q3 report)

As highlighted by Kelvin point #6, there is a declaration of Huang's wife providing sales and training services of $200k in last nine months ended 30 Sept 2019.

This declaration of interested person transactions is definitely a nice gesture (similar to declaration of Dora's brother-in-law being the owner of china partner).

Question is 
1. Did she only started to provide the services nine months ago?
2. If not, when was it first started?
3. Will it be better to hire her as an employee instead of paying for her services?

Kelvin has 2 point #2.
The 2nd point #2 is more interesting to me.
The question was raised by our valuebuddies as well as shortseller:
(click to read vb.com post from Boon)

At that point in time, we were very amazed that such things can happen.
Being naive, I concluded that Bestworld had very good control on it's China partner.

Of course, now we all know - it's China partner is none other than Dora's Brother-in-law.

Something that's irrelevant and don't have to be declared by SGX standard.

So, combining Kelvin's 2nd point of point #2 
and point #6, are we expecting more cockroaches in the kitchen?


=========== Signature ===========

感恩 Thank you

[dreamybear]

..........
2. Gross Profit Margin fell from 81.7% to 68.9% because of increased custom duties, increased filling/bottling/packaging charges, freight and handling charges.

The import duties of US made skin care products went up from 11% to 31%. Best World got hit badly in this.

..........
6. Related party transaction, the wife of Huang Ban Chin provided services to Best World worth $206k.

*Judging by the inventory value, 4Q should do well.*

Thanks for the concise summary of the main points in the results.  

The Tuas factory, when operational(not sure abt the progress) cld potentially help to alleviate the duties & packaging charges.

I was surprised by the related party transaction of HBC's spouse - seems to be the first time this was announced ?

Inventories
"...Inventories increased from $31.4 million as at 31 December 2018 to $66.2 million as at 30 September 2019 mainly due to building up of inventories in our Hunan branch in China and headquarter in Singapore in anticipation for higher year-end demand...."

3Q18 inventory 37m -> 4Q18 Revenue 127m
4Q19 inventory 66m -> 4Q19 Revenue  <??>

Areas of Concern
- No. of franchisees which are distributed over eleven provinces and one municipality in mainland China, dropped to 32(as at 30 Sep 2019)
  from 33(as at 30 Jun 2019).

- Interestingly, the "cautious optimistic" statements were present in 3Q17 & 3Q18 respectively but not in 3Q19 results announcement 
a) "With sustained growth expected for the Group’s Export Segment, barring unforeseen circumstances, Management is cautiously optimistic of the Group’s profitability for the next reporting period and for FY2017and that the decline in Taiwan will be sufficiently buffered by growth of the Group’s Export Segment....."
b) : ".....in line with previous announcements and barring any unforeseen circumstances, management is cautiously optimistic that the Group will be able to achieve higher bottom line for FY2018 compared to FY2017.... "

-> Doesn't seem to have any explanation regarding the reduction of franchisees. In any case, the no. of franchisees / as well as the geographical coverage area seem to have stagnated. Also, is the company no longer as "optimistic" of stronger 4Q19 results as previous years ?  Does all these perhaps signify future growth may not be as strong as before ?

>> If barring similar strong growth in the past, how wld the mkt react once trading is resumed ?
>> So far, all is quiet on the shortlists' camp, will they release other issues/"findings" once independent review report is released ?

[kelvesy]

You are very sharp!

4Q 2018, I estimate around ~$150M of sales.

[dreamybear]

I know this posting is a bit late but since it's still under suspension, I guess there's no hurry.  The announcement doesn't seem to indicate when it will resume trading but my guess wld be mid-Feb 2020 based on indicative timeline below.

BTW, Happy New Year everyone - hope 2020 will be a fruitful and bountiful year to all buddies !

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Independent Review - Status Update (12 Dec 2019)

.......
The Review
The Review has been an comprehensive exercise with several principal objectives1. The scope of the Review was first determined in March 2019 and was subsequently expanded in May 2019 pursuant to the Notice of Compliance. Achieving these objectives has involved a wide-ranging fact-finding exercise to establish the circumstances around the relationship with Changsha Best, reviewing documents and data points on sales in China, and reviews of the Groups internal control procedures and corporate governance practices.

In the course of the Review, the Independent Reviewer has made multipletrips to China to visit and interview franchisees and business partners, and review records and documents of the Group and third parties ........

Status Update
As at the date of this Announcement, the AC is cautiously optimistic that the Company is on track to meet the indicative timeline previously disclosed in the announcement on 1 November 2019, which has been reproduced below for convenience.

The AC would like to reassure shareholders that significant progress has been made in the Review.......

Indicative Timeline
Shareholders should note that this timeline is indicative only and was prepared based on the Company’s best estimate of the time required to complete the Review.

Date of Key Events

Mid-December 2019
Completion of fieldwork for the Review.

Early January 2020
Draft report to be provided to SGX RegCo for review.

Month of January 2020
SGX  RegCo  to  review  and  discuss  the  draft  report  with the  Independent Reviewer, and the Audit Committee (if applicable).

Early February 2020
(1) Completion and issuance of the report on the Review ;
(2) Announcement of executive summary of key findings of the Review  on SGXNet 
(3) Despatch of Notice of AGM and FY2018 Annual Report to the Shareholders

Late-February 2020
AGM

http://bestworld.listedcompany.com/newsr...B7H5.1.pdf