Auric Pacific Group

[shanrui_91]

The well connected Saw might be joining soon?

http://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php...&page=6#57

may have to put it into my watchlist soon. let's hope she can transform auric like what she did in SMRT, especially doing something about delifrance

[VestedInterest]

Mdm Saw will probably want to redeem herself after the fiasco at SMRT. This could be her last job and therefore last chance to prove herself. And that will not be difficult as Auric has not been perfroming that well of late. A change whatever it is can only be for the better. I think, on the whole, this is a good move. Mdm Saw in her last post had a lot of difficulty juggling the interests of the various stake-holders- the commuter, the shareholder and the PTC, not to mention the Ministry of Transport. In the end she over-focused in the area where she had most expertise in, ie the retail business, with the hope of pleasing the commuter (by cross subsidising and keeping fares lower) and the PTC at the same time. Am also quite sure that she had to meet some other KPI's, one of it being the bottomline, which the retail segment would have helped too. Unfortunately, the MRT system drew a lot of flak for the spate of breakdowns, security breaches, overcrowding and increase in fares. These all happened repeatedly in quick succession of each other and spelled the end of Mdm Saw's career with SMRT. Transport, housing, security and healthcare are always hot potato issues for any government to tackle.

I suspect that Mdm Saw may help Auric (and this is conjecture):
1. turn around all those loss-making and underperforming subsidiaries.She may be more ruthless in shutting down all those loss-making outlets.
2. look for good companies in similar businesses to buy out, take over or collaborate. Likewise she may decide to sell off some of the subsidiaries that have no synergistic value to Auric.
3. She may diversify the company into other retail areas, apart from food.
4. She may help kick-start the retail property business of Auric
5. She might list one or two of Auric's subsidiaries- but must turn them around first.
Remember Lippo is one of the biggest conglomerates in Southeast Asia. Lippomalls belong to them as well.
The possibilities are immense and the future looks exciting. Mdm Saw may be just what is needed to wake this sleepy counter up. She's finally back in familiar territory. She'll take this company to new places...

[shanrui_91]

Auric has 2 prized assets in Sunshine and SCS, its not going to be hard to turn it around. However, if she can change Auric into a great company, then she's really an excellent CEO. I feel that she has the vision but she need a good COO to take charge of the operations aspect. Maybe QAF and Auric should just merge and then they spin off all other irrelevant businesses.

[Drizzt]

i actually think this is a good move. she was at duty free if i remember correctly before she went to SMRT. what she did help is to optimize the retail potential. This seems to be what Auric needs.

but i think of it this way, Lippo group did bring on people to turn this around yet they weren't doing a good job with this (and my dear Food Junction) what else could Mdm Saw do?

[wsreader]

During her smrt era, quite a few old timer left and some duty free staff join as senior management. Will there a repeat at Auric?
Perhaps quite common everywhere whenever there is a change in management.
Hope it is a good fit as the retail industry is her forte.

[propertyinvestor]

i actually think this is a good move. she was at duty free if i remember correctly before she went to SMRT. what she did help is to optimize the retail potential. This seems to be what Auric needs.

but i think of it this way, Lippo group did bring on people to turn this around yet they weren't doing a good job with this (and my dear Food Junction) what else could Mdm Saw do?

The Decision to buy food junction was made by Yao Che wan I think...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[VestedInterest]

Looks like Delifrance is giving Auric another headache with a new lawsuit. This time it is to do with the tenancy/lease of their industrial building. It looks to me that the curse of Delifrance is continues to repeat itself- first it was Sembcorp and then Edmontor and now Auric. The way I see it, Delifrance has a lot of brand recognition and loyalty which the company is unable tofully exploit. I hope Mdm Saw will be able to redefine the business model for Delifrance. The breadtalk model may be a better one. And really believe that all Delifrance needs to so is to cut the prices of its cakes and pastries to make them more competitive. I always think twice about eating in Delifrance because of the cost mainly and especially if there is a Cake History of Breadtalk around. They should also have more promotions and a loyalty card and new products every few months. The potential is just immense as its distribution network is far and wide and brand recogntion is high.

[buddy]

Just a thought here : it has 9% dividend yield, net current assets of 104 mn (adjusted for dividend) & market cap of 85 mn. So one is buying fixed assets & brands for free? Can anyone throw any light here

[greengiraffe]

Do any buddies know that Auric is formerly the old Cold Storage listed entity?

Since dunno when after Dairy Farm taken over the fresh food people, it has became a trading house. It has stayed that way with a lot more cash after the Lippo brothers assumed control.

Years ago when Parkway (before delisting) was a substantial strategic holder in Auric, there was a substantial cash hoard on its balance sheet. Subsequent to Parkway's exit, the cash hoard has been systematically turnover into various investements in search of higher returns.

Robinsons, real estate, hedge funds, high tech private equities, food junction and even delifrance were the various high profile.

Any buddies who are evaluating have to thread with extreme caution as management is not known to be pro shareholders. The yield is high largely due to the fact that share price has declined, nothing to do with rising dividend stream.

Even the AGM door gift quality has declined over the years - from a large hamper pack of Auric's agency products including 1 or 2 loaves of sunshine bread to virtually nothing these days.

Best of all, none of the Lippo brothers (at least during my time of attendance) are ever present to face the music during AGMs leaving it to the Thai non exec chairman.

Hence, my conclusions here - its not about Mr Got $ make (Yao Che Wan) or the incoming Saw - its about the owners' attitude towards shareholders and the lack of strategic position of the entire group's business.

Caveat Emptor

[buddy]

Do any buddies know that Auric is formerly the old Cold Storage listed entity?

Since dunno when after Dairy Farm taken over the fresh food people, it has became a trading house. It has stayed that way with a lot more cash after the Lippo brothers assumed control.

Years ago when Parkway (before delisting) was a substantial strategic holder in Auric, there was a substantial cash hoard on its balance sheet. Subsequent to Parkway's exit, the cash hoard has been systematically turnover into various investements in search of higher returns.

Robinsons, real estate, hedge funds, high tech private equities, food junction and even delifrance were the various high profile.

Any buddies who are evaluating have to thread with extreme caution as management is not known to be pro shareholders. The yield is high largely due to the fact that share price has declined, nothing to do with rising dividend stream.

Even the AGM door gift quality has declined over the years - from a large hamper pack of Auric's agency products including 1 or 2 loaves of sunshine bread to virtually nothing these days.

Best of all, none of the Lippo brothers (at least during my time of attendance) are ever present to face the music during AGMs leaving it to the Thai non exec chairman.

Hence, my conclusions here - its not about Mr Got $ make (Yao Che Wan) or the incoming Saw - its about the owners' attitude towards shareholders and the lack of strategic position of the entire group's business.

Caveat Emptor