Universal Resource and Services (formerly: Sky China Petroleum Services)

[gimbeng]

This counter has seen a significant selldown from 20cents to current price of 10 cents per share. with NTA of 33cents, and earnings of 2 cents in half year..

but the selldown poses the question whether there is something the numbers are not telling us?

any senior member can comment?

[Nick]

My guess:

1) Price of oil is declining.
2) S Chip fears
3) Diversification into oil tanking business which might be cyclical.
4) Lack of good dividends despite the strong cash-flow from its rig rental business.

(Not Vested)

[dzwm87]

This counter has seen a significant selldown from 20cents to current price of 10 cents per share. with NTA of 33cents, and earnings of 2 cents in half year..

but the selldown poses the question whether there is something the numbers are not telling us?

any senior member can comment?

selldown was due to its auditor E&Y resigning.. & coupled with march s-chip frauds..

they just released an announcement yesterday that its CFO has checked the operations in China and its cash holding is clean

but then again, it's from its own management. hard to imagine if they were to declare publicly that cash is fake.

[ValueBeliever]

There are those that question that singapore small cap has also had its fair share of problems in getting swindled/defraud its shldrs. I had said SGX could still do something about it if its a Spore home grown Co.

SGX has no solution for S-chip. But wait? Here is something very unusual happening. HISAKA is offering to buy some/all of the shipping business of Sky China Petroleum (SCP). This SCP is another 1 of those well connected contractor to CNPC. It was suppose to be a driller and drilling rigs owner when it came onboard for listing and then switch to transportation of oil claiming that there is lots of operational efficiency better shipping business opportunity?? Prior to this they raise private funding thru placement with individual that are considered sophisticated Spore investor. All of them got burnt.

Now SGX dare not call anything as fraud. But SEC in USA sued for fraud on a Co. that its chairman own. Our SGX is dumb and deaf, the more we fear for SGX, the more shy SGX gets!

HISAKA is a Co. that have link in getting contract from gov related service? The surprising thing is that it is willing to gamble with Shldrs money on the cashing out a questionable Co. that built those expensive shipping asset without any profit guarantee?

I cant believe it? A Co. that is doing fine wants to get into business with a Co. that has not performed since listing and who's chairman is questionable? What a mess?

[CY09]

Company posted a relatively muted Q1 results. But what stands out is the announcement of "The disposal of the Transportation Segment has been approved by shareholders at the EGM on 25 April 2013." This will bring the company 13.2M cash ( + the 3.15 M it just received as first tranche payment). Adding its 59.7M cash pile, the company will have 17.9 Cent cash per share vs. its current share price of 8.2 cents! Why look for undervalued pennies at overseas Asian exchange, when our SGX has a variety of pennies trading below their cash per share and not to forget Creative technologies whose market cap is now just slightly below its cash pile.

Jokes aside, the company has been able to post positive OCF before changes in working capital for many quarters. However, if people are hoping that the company declares a massive cash dividend, then perhaps continue hoping. By the way, the company is now renamed as Universal Resource and Services Limited instead of Sky China Petroleum. So perhaps it has to be shifted to the U section.

http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...C0038B539/$file/URSL_Q1_2013_Results.pdf?openelement

[valuebuddies]

Any problem with this except being a S-chip? NAV 34c, cash 23c, price 10c? Really catch no balls...

[valuebuddies]

http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/URS_Q420...eID=276855

So much cash yet dividend reduced again to S$0.001? Could this be another Eratat?

[CY09]

I have spoken to the mgmt. before they have highlighted why they are conserving cash is due to their MOU announced in Nov 2013. ( I don't quite buy it :p). CFO told me there was a chance they may need to raise capital as their current cash reserve is not enough

For your info the key members of the company only speak Chinese. which means it was hard to speak to them (needed a translator)

[thinleyw]

Universal's CEO, Qingzeng Liu, has a questionable background. According to the SEC the guy misappropriated more than $40 million from SinoTech’s primary bank account during July and August 2011. According to the Commission, he then stood silently by in August 2011 as SinoTech attempted to counter public accusations of fraud by claiming the company held $93 million in its bank accounts – a statement Liu and SinoTech knew was false.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litrelease...r22341.htm


Identity verification

From Sinotech's 2010 Form 20-F

"Qingzeng Liu, Age 50, Chairman of our board of directors. Mr. Liu became the controlling shareholder of TNH in May 2009 and has been actively involved in the supervision of the management of the company. Mr. Liu has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He serves as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Sky China Petroleum Services Ltd., a Singapore listed company. He currently also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Dagang Shengkang and has been in that position since 1996. Prior to that, Mr. Liu has also held various positions in subsidiaries of China National Petroleum Corporation as management personnel. From 1979 to 1990, he served as the deputy head of Department of Oil Development Project in CNPC Northern China Oil Administration Bureau and the head of Corporate Administration Department in CNPC Dagang Oil Administration Bureau respectively. Mr. Liu received his BA in Philosophy from Beijing Normal College in 1983. He also received a Master of Business Administration from Tsinghua University in 2005."
http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filin...a24ef2b5d8

From Universal's 2013 annual report:

"Mr. Liu Qingzeng was appointed as our Executive Director in September 2004 and was re-elected on 25 April 2013. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of our Group.
Prior to the founding of our Group, he had worked in various positions at both Huabei and Dagang oilfields, accumulating many years of technical and management experience in geological exploration, oil extraction, oil well construction and operation. He was previously a member of senior management at the Dagang Oilfield Management Bureau. He was a department head at the Huabei Oilfield Management Bureau, where he was in charge of various portfolios including petroleum engineering, market development and project works. Thereafter, he took several years off to study, prior to returning to work at the Huabei Oilfield Petroleum Engineering Construction Company as a manager.
Mr. Liu Qingzeng is a graduate of the Daqing Petroleum Institute and the Industrial and Commercial Management Academy of Tsinghua University."

[CY09]

http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/URS_Anno...eID=439316

It seems an approximate amount of s$8.8 of cash did not exist in its balance sheet from a random check by its own auditors.

If readers have heeded past warnings from this thread, perhaps the writing has long been written on the walls.

<views based on hindsight bias>