Interplex Holdings (formerly: Amtek Engineering)

[dydx]

Amtek used to have good manufacturing assets, a strong middle management team, and a large prime-name customer base, and presumably all these should still be around, perhaps slightly weakened now.

To engage Amtek again, I will have to first satisfy myself that the present top management and controlling shareholders are decent people and have the right motivations, including looking after the interests of public minority shareholders and rewarding them when the business does well.

[pianist]

how to check whether the mgt and controlling shareholders are decent people?

are there any indicators for this?

[Musicwhiz]

Amtek used to have good manufacturing assets, a strong middle management team, and a large prime-name customer base, and presumably all these should still be around, perhaps slightly weakened now.

To engage Amtek again, I will have to first satisfy myself that the present top management and controlling shareholders are decent people and have the right motivations, including looking after the interests of public minority shareholders and rewarding them when the business does well.

Hmm, after the privatization and now re-listing, I doubt Amtek would have the same compelling proposition that it did previously, even if the Management Team are essentially the same. The Company may have gone through changes which have altered it permanently, either in the way it is run or maybe the BOD's Strategy? Perhaps even the economics of the business and the model have altered, making it less than desirable to invest in. Just some thoughts.....more research needs to be done though, in order to ascertain the above.

[brattzz]

temasek brought in?! :O

[yogi]

At helm of company is the same CEO/Chairman who had turned around GES with restructuring resulting in $200M net profit and finally sold to venture. Though not much information about GES. I am looking forward to find more historical information about GES. He holds 4-5% stake.

As promised in IPO prospectus, company has sold few ineffecient plants.

Inspite of overall weakness in its hardisk business, overall revenue & profit of company rose 7% and 116% respectively in FY2011. Gross margins expanded. This is due to its diversified mfgr EMS business addressing widest industries (home appliance, white goods, oral care, printers, automotive, electrical & electroncis, telecommunications, personal health care, medical equipments) and hard disk, servers, network routers. I believe this is widest among other competitors.

Company generated strong operating cash flow in FY2011. At the time of listing, company had significant debt and over last year company has diverted its IPO proceeds and cash generated to repayment of loan. This is positive as most of companies would use IPO procceeds to expnad business. So mgmt seems to be very focused on minimizing the leverage.

Don't forget also hefty divident payment as well.

Moverover recenlty in Aug, IDs had bought 150k shares. Temasek has significant stake.

Though above are good points, it would be worth to wait for first Annual report to comeout to understand BoD and CEO/Chairman's attitude for the company.

Comparing Temasek's bought price of 1.30, current price of 0.65 at PE of 4.8x is real margin of safety.

No vested interest but contemplating to buy for long term.

[Nick]

The dividend yield at the current price is pretty attractive as well. Do they have an official dividend policy ?

[Vseeker]

The dividend yield at the current price is pretty attractive as well. Do they have an official dividend policy ?

DIVIDEND POLICY
Statements contained in this section that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Such
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially
from those which may be forecast and projected. Under no circumstances should the inclusion of such
information herein be regarded as a representation, warranty or prediction with respect to the accuracy of the
underlying assumptions by us, the Vendor, the Underwriters or any other person. Investors are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof. See “Forward-
Looking Statements”.

We are a holding company and will be dependent on distributions from our subsidiaries in order to pay dividends in the future.
The ability of our subsidiaries to declare and pay dividends to us will be dependent on the cash income of
and cash available to such subsidiary and may be restricted under applicable law or regulation.

See “Risk Factors —Risks Relating to the Ownership of Our Shares— We may not be able to pay dividends in the future”
and “Regulation —PRC—Other Laws and Regulations — Dividend Distribution”.

The declaration and payment of future dividends may be recommended by our Board of Directors at their
discretion and will depend upon our operating results, financial condition, other cash requirements including
capital expenditures, the terms of borrowing arrangements (if any) and other factors deemed relevant by our
Directors. This, in turn, depends on our strategy, the successful implementation of our strategy and on
financial, competitive, regulatory, general economic conditions and other factors that may be specific to us or
specific to our industry, many of which are beyond our control.

Subject to the factors described above, our Board of Directors intends to pay dividends of up to 50.0%
of our net profit after tax after considering a number of factors, including our level of cash and revenue
reserve, results of operations, business prospects, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition,
contractual restrictions, the absence of any circumstances which might reduce the amount of revenue reserve
available to pay dividends, and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors, including our
expected financial performance.

[Stockerman]

which is a better play? Amtek Engr or InnoTek? which will have a higher sustainable dividend yield over the medium term say next 2 to 3 yrs?

tks for sharing views..


*****

DBS Vickers upgraded precision engineering firm Amtek Engineering Ltd to buy from hold and raised its target price to S$0.82 from S$0.75, citing better than expected quarterly earnings.

Shares of Amtek were 1.6 percent higher at S$0.65 and have gained 10.2 percent since the start of the year.

Amtek said its third quarter net profit fell 21 percent to $7.8 million from a year ago but this was higher than DBS's expectations due to stronger than expected sales in all business segments.

Near term earnings are expected to improve, helped by a recovery in the hard disk drive segment and better margins, DBS said.

Amtek also announced a surprise interim dividend of 2.3 Singapore cents. DBS said it expects Amtek to declare another dividend for the next quarter, lifting its dividend payout ratio to 55 percent from 50 percent.

---

let's say full year EPS = 6.2 USD cents.

55% = 4.3 cents ( 1 USD - 1.25 SD)

4.3 over 64.5 cents is only 6.7% of dividend yield...

[CityFarmer]

Let's recap Amtek history before move on to financial views

Amtek had been privatised by management buy-out with offer price of $1.10 in 2007. After strip off the valuable assets, it get relist back to SGX in 2010 with a different management team from GES International (now under Venture Corporation). The IPO price is $1.3 IIRC, now it is price at $0.645

If you participated with the IPO, you had already lose half of your investment.

[Musicwhiz]

*For the full article, please visit the website.

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Aug 25, 2012
Amtek full-year earnings plunge 26%
Firm blames challenging business environment for lacklustre results

By amanda tan

THE tougher business environment hit earnings hard at precision engineering company Amtek Engineering in the last financial year.

Earnings were down 26 per cent to US$33.6 million (S$41.5 million) for the 12 months to June 30 while revenue was largely flat, down 1 per cent to US$675.1 million.

The firm blamed the higher cost of goods sold, increased expenses, reduced gains from selling plant and equipment and a hit on foreign exchange.

Amtek said its lacklustre results were "due to a challenging business environment".

Its imaging and printing product sector grew 14 per cent in the year due to gains in market share in office automation products.

There was also growth in the automotive and electrical and electronics product sectors due to strong demand in China.

The casing and enclosure product segment was flat while the mass storage and consumer electronics divisions both declined.

Full-year earnings per share were 6.2 US cents, down from 8.3 US cents a year earlier, while net asset value was 30 US cents as at June 30, down from 32 US cents last year.

The board proposed a final dividend of 2.2 Singapore cents per share.
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