Sheng Siong Group

[lonewolf]

Say what you will, MW, the proof is in the pudding. And there's no doubt that Sheng Siong really perform better than expected. And its certainly the 2nd best IPO performer this yr (can't beat ZMBH's dazzling +316% since listing). And in such a market, its almost spectacular. Its a stock that is probably worth a stag, possibly sustained at the moment from the dividend policy and the perception that Sheng Siong is a 'stable' company. Let's see how long it can keep 40c.

[Musicwhiz]

Say what you will, MW, the proof is in the pudding.

Hi lonewolf,

The proof is indeed in the pudding, at least for this initial week. What I meant was that my time horizon is much longer and whether or not Sheng Siong will turn out to be a viable investment will require time to prove.

Of course, if you are purely in it for a stag, then I agree you would have made very decent kopi money!

[lonewolf]

Of course, if you are purely in it for a stag, then I agree you would have made very decent kopi money!

I wish! This may purely just a coincident but ever since I started hanging ard VB, I stopped stagging IPO.

In the long run, I guess its for the better. I'm more discerning nowadays when it comes to IPO.

[Musicwhiz]

The party continues.....

The Straits Times
Sep 1, 2011
companies
Voracious appetite for Sheng Siong shares
The stock has risen 70% since listing on Aug 17, while STI rose just 2%

By Jonathan Kwok

SHARES in supermarket chain Sheng Siong have rocketed since their listing on Aug 17, while the counter's daily trading volumes have gone through the roof.

The stock closed at 56 cents yesterday, a premium of 70 per cent over the initial public offering (IPO) price of 33 cents.

The Straits Times Index has risen just 2 per cent over the same period.

Market watchers point to a few factors behind such investor infatuation.

One is that the home-grown business - which operates 23 stores, mainly in heartland areas - is seen as recession-proof in these turbulent times, as it sells many staple items which consumers need.

Some investors have also been attracted by its pledge to pay up to 90 per cent of its net profits this year and next in dividends.

That would have meant a dividend yield of 8.7 per cent, based on the 33-cent IPO price, if net profits remain unchanged from last year's $42.6 million.

But this yield figure has certainly dropped in the wake of the share price rise.

The huge number of shares changing hands each day has also attracted attention.

The stock has been one of the most heavily traded since its debut, and was at No. 2 yesterday, with 141 million shares being dealt.

'Given the size and free float of Sheng Siong, the volume traded is significantly higher than the recent IPOs that we have seen,' said Sias Research investment analyst Ng Kian Teck.

'There could be institutional investors that are extremely interested in this counter, given its defensive nature and high dividend.'

Sheng Siong's IPO offered 351.5 million shares to retail and institutional investors.

Of the IPO tranche, 11.6 million shares went to Sheng Siong's directors and their family members.

A further 121.88 million were placed with the five largest institutional investors, including JF Asset Management, Prudential Asset Management and FIL Investment Management.

None of these firms owns 5 per cent of Sheng Siong's shares, so their dealings do not have to be disclosed. This makes it hard to discern if the trading activity has been generated by institutional or retail investors.

But it appears that the directors and family members have not been trading in the stock, as no such dealings have been disclosed, as is required under exchange rules.

What is clear is that an average of 116.8 million Sheng Siong shares have been traded daily since it listed on Aug 17 - a significant proportion of the free float.

Remisiers report that, other than long- term investors, the stock has attracted the attention of short-term traders looking for a quick bet, joining other favourites such as Genting Singapore and Golden Agri-Resources.

'The high trading volume can be explained by the significant price movement, which could attract the attention of some retail and intra-day traders, thus creating a self-reinforcing cycle and contributing to the overall volume,' said Mr Ng.

He said that given its high trading volume, there could be investors who are slowly accumulating the shares but have yet to reach the substantial level of 5 per cent, at which they will need to disclose their holdings.

jonkwok@sph.com.sg

[sgmystique]

Well if you look at the way Sheng Siong is dropping today (it is down to S$0.475 while I type) in the first half hour of trade I would say it is a case of "Khel Khatam Paisa Hajam" (That's in Hindi and means "The game is over and the money has been digested)

[orang]

The party continues.....

The Straits Times
Sep 1, 2011
companies
Voracious appetite for Sheng Siong shares
The stock has risen 70% since listing on Aug 17, while STI rose just 2%

By Jonathan Kwok

SHARES in supermarket chain Sheng Siong have rocketed since their listing on Aug 17, while the counter's daily trading volumes have gone through the roof.

The stock closed at 56 cents yesterday, a premium of 70 per cent over the initial public offering (IPO) price of 33 cents.

The Straits Times Index has risen just 2 per cent over the same period.

Market watchers point to a few factors behind such investor infatuation.

One is that the home-grown business - which operates 23 stores, mainly in heartland areas - is seen as recession-proof in these turbulent times, as it sells many staple items which consumers need.

Some investors have also been attracted by its pledge to pay up to 90 per cent of its net profits this year and next in dividends.

That would have meant a dividend yield of 8.7 per cent, based on the 33-cent IPO price, if net profits remain unchanged from last year's $42.6 million.

But this yield figure has certainly dropped in the wake of the share price rise.

The huge number of shares changing hands each day has also attracted attention.

The stock has been one of the most heavily traded since its debut, and was at No. 2 yesterday, with 141 million shares being dealt.

'Given the size and free float of Sheng Siong, the volume traded is significantly higher than the recent IPOs that we have seen,' said Sias Research investment analyst Ng Kian Teck.

'There could be institutional investors that are extremely interested in this counter, given its defensive nature and high dividend.'

Sheng Siong's IPO offered 351.5 million shares to retail and institutional investors.

Of the IPO tranche, 11.6 million shares went to Sheng Siong's directors and their family members.

A further 121.88 million were placed with the five largest institutional investors, including JF Asset Management, Prudential Asset Management and FIL Investment Management.

None of these firms owns 5 per cent of Sheng Siong's shares, so their dealings do not have to be disclosed. This makes it hard to discern if the trading activity has been generated by institutional or retail investors.

But it appears that the directors and family members have not been trading in the stock, as no such dealings have been disclosed, as is required under exchange rules.

What is clear is that an average of 116.8 million Sheng Siong shares have been traded daily since it listed on Aug 17 - a significant proportion of the free float.

Remisiers report that, other than long- term investors, the stock has attracted the attention of short-term traders looking for a quick bet, joining other favourites such as Genting Singapore and Golden Agri-Resources.

'The high trading volume can be explained by the significant price movement, which could attract the attention of some retail and intra-day traders, thus creating a self-reinforcing cycle and contributing to the overall volume,' said Mr Ng.

He said that given its high trading volume, there could be investors who are slowly accumulating the shares but have yet to reach the substantial level of 5 per cent, at which they will need to disclose their holdings.

jonkwok@sph.com.sg

Party is over?

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 06 Sep 2011

Sheng Siong's share price slips a bit more

Counter falls a further 1.5cents to close at 47.5cents, but still above IPO price of 33 cents

By NISHA RAMCHANDANI

SHARES in supermarket operator Sheng Siong continued to decline yesterday, giving up a further 1.5 cents to close at 47.5 cents yesterday.

Yesterday's closing price was around 15.2 per cent lower compared to Aug 31, when it closed at a high of 56 cents.

However, shares in the supermarket operator - which was the most heavily traded by volume yesterday with 89.94 million shares changing hands - are still above its IPO price of 33 cents.

In the two weeks after its trading debut on Aug 17, the stock made fairly strong gains, even amid the market volatility which dogged most of August, as it is viewed as a defensive stock. The group has also said that it plans to pay out up to 90 per cent of its FY2011 and FY2012 post-tax profits as dividends.

According to its prospectus, as at 2010 the group held a 2.6 per cent market share of the retail market in revenue terms. This puts it in third place after NTUC FairPrice Co-operative, which has a 7.6 per cent share, and Dairy Farm International, with 7.4 per cent.

Between 2011 and 2012, Singapore's supermarkets and hypermarkets are expected to grow their revenue by 4-5 per cent, though this is expected to slow to 1.5-2.5 per cent in 2014 and 2015.

Sheng Siong, which has 23 stores across Singapore, also has plans to expand.

Last week, the group announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Sheng Siong Supermarket has entered into a lease agreement with JYC-NCL to rent premises at Woodlands Industrial Park for use as a supermarket. This is to be funded by internal resources.

According to the agreement, the group may rent the premises - which spans some 14,240 square feet - for three years starting Oct 1, with two consecutive options to renew for additional periods of three years each.

The group raised $116 million through its IPO, of which $62.6 million in net proceeds was set aside to fund the expansion of its grocery retail business in Singapore and overseas, working capital and repay term loans.

[karlmarx]

i was hoping SS shares would be cheap enough to collect, but even at its worst, it only corrected to about 31c, which still isn't enough of a bargain to me. i doubt they will be able to maintain their FY10 net profit, but i'm certain of their ability to pay dividends year after year. at the right price, this is a keeper.

[dydx]

3Q results just released.....
http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...40073F6C6/$file/3Q_announcement_final_clean.pdf?openelement [results announcement]
http://202.65.242.23:9203/061D7FCB8D456F...40073F6C6/$file/SS_PressRelease_10Nov2011.pdf?openelement [press release]

It is worthwhile to note that probably similar to other supermarket operators, Sheng Siong takes on an approx. 60-day trade credit from its suppliers - as evidenced by the large $81.1m balance in trade and other payables as at 30Sep11. Rationally speaking, we should deduct a big portion of this number from the $146.6m balance of cash and cash equivalents at the group level.

Extrapolating from the 1st 3 quarters' results, Sheng Siong is poised to record a NP of approx. $31.0m in FY11, which will translate into an EPS of $0.022, based on the large 1,383.5m issued shares. Based on the last done share price of $0.43, ShengSiong now has a market cap. of $595.0m. This appears to be a grossly over-priced situation to me!

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 12 Nov 2011

Sheng Siong's Q3 profit drops 50.9% to $6.6m

By KELLY TAY

THE net profit of recently listed supermarket chain Sheng Siong Group Ltd fell 50.9 per cent year on year, from $13.5 million to $6.6 million, for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2011.

Revenue for Q3 2011 also slid 9.3 per cent, from last year's $161.3 million to $146.2 million.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, net profit decreased by 33.6 per cent, from $35.4 million to $23.5 million, primarily due to the absence of non-recurring other income, as well as initial public offering (IPO) expenses incurred in the current period.

Other income plunged 83.4 per cent or $12 million for the period, because of the absence of non-recurring items such as gains on disposal of investments (such as quoted preference shares and debt securities), dividend income and government grants, and a lower rental income.

Revenue for the first nine months of this year slipped 8.5 per cent year on year, from $480.5 million to $439.6 million. This was due to the closure of two outlets - Ten Mile Junction and Tanjong Katong, which were closed in November 2010 and September 2011 respectively.

Said Lim Hock Chee, chief executive officer of Sheng Siong: 'We will continue to focus on revenue and margin expansion to drive growth. We target to open more stores to boost the top-line.'

The group opened two new outlets in the first half of this year, and is scheduled to open another two in Woodlands Industrial Park and Thomson Imperial Court by the end of 2011. However, these are not expected to contribute materially to FY 2011 financial results.

By the end of the year, Sheng Siong will have 25 outlets with a total retail space of approximately 348,000 sq ft.

Earlier in August, Sheng Siong launched its IPO for a mainboard listing, raising net proceeds of about $62.6 million, at an offer price of 33 cents per share.

Earnings per share for Q3 2011 was lower by 0.62 cents to 0.56 cents, compared with 1.18 cents in Q3 2010.

No dividend was recommended for the period.

Sheng Siong expects the industry to remain competitive, given its competitor's (Shop N Save's) plans to open 10 more outlets by the end of this year.

Sheng Siong's shares fell one cent yesterday to close at 42 cents per share.