Mulpha's
Aussie Gains (The Edge Daily)Property-based Mulpha International Bhd is reaping gains from its investments Down Under, which have come up in value with the rise of the Australian dollar.
This rise of the dollar will lift the value of Mulpha’s Australian assets and earnings when these are translated to ringgit for its final accounts. The group had about RM900 million worth of assets Down Under at the end of 2002. These assets generate the bulk of the group’s earnings.
Mulpha’s Chief Executive Officer, Chung Tze Hien confirms the translation gains to Financial Daily - “The investments are translated to the prevailing exchange rates annually”. The group’s profits for the fourth quarter ending 31 Dec, 2003 will also gain from the translation effect as the Aussie dollar had surged in December.
The company’s 2002 annual report shows its Aussie assets formed more than 40% of its total assets of RM2.2 billion. There are a few other companies that have sizeable assets in Australia — the most notable of these is Selangor Properties Bhd. Selangor Properties has more than half of its assets overseas, mainly Australia, totalling to RM810mil, according to the company. "In 2002, the bulk of Mulpha Australia's profits came from its Norwest mixed development in Sydney. This project will be ongoing for the next five years," says Chung.
Since last year, a new source of contribution came from the Sanctuary Cove resort project that was presciently acquired by Mulpha in 2002, before the rise of the Aussie dollar. "Sales of waterfront houses at this resort on the Gold Coast have been buoyant," he adds. Mulpha owns the Hyatt Hotel at Sanctuary Cove as well as Novotel Hotel and a car park complex in Sydney with the property 600m Down Under generating firm profits, the group was able to achieve a net profit of RM32.7 million or earnings per share of 2.5 sen in the third quarter ended 30 Sept, 2003.
Latest
Development at Mulpha Capital Markets(MCM)MCM provides corporate & financial advisory services and holds an Investment Adviser's license issued by the Securities Commission. MCM specializes in advising on transactions using innovative structured capital market products and is wholly owned and backed by Mulpha International Bhd.
MCM has recently completed the following transactions as the Financial Adviser/Coordinator:
—Issuance of RM90mil Islamic Debt Securities financing programme by
Evermaster Group Berhad, a Sabah-based timber company listed on the Main Board of the KLSE
—Issuance of Private Debt Securities of up to RM230mil comprising of RM205mil Serial Bond Facility and RM25mil Subordinated Commercial Papers Programme for Annexe Profile, the management buyout vehicle for Unza Holdings Bhd
Also in the pipeline due for completion are the following:
—The proposed issuance of Islamic Private Debt Securities of up to RM135mil comprising of RM50mil Senior Bai' Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities, RM60mil Junior Bai' Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities and up to RM25mil Murabahah Underwritten Notes Issuance Facility/Islamic Medium Term Notes for Glomac Bhd, a reputable property developer. The facility recently obtained approval from the Securities Commission
—The proposed issuance of RM85mil Murabahah Notes Issuance Facility/Islamic Medium Term Notes for Premium Nutrients Bhd, a specialty oil and fats producer which was the white knight that assumed the listing status of Bridgecon Bhd.
Mulpha
Releases Johnson Shoes (Starbiz,
The Star)MULPHA INTERNATIONAL BHD's subsidiaries, Mulpha Trading Sdn Bhd (MSTB) and Mulpha Land & Property Sdn Bhd (MLPSB) have entered into a share sale agreement with Casa Tegas Sdn Bhd for the disposal of about 2.522 million shares in Johnson Shoes Bhd (JSB) for just over RM357,000 cash.
The shares represented 91% of the paid-up capital of JSB.
MTSB and MLPSB hold 2,549,389 shares and 2,666 shares respectively in JSB, which is mainly involved in manufacturing and trading of leather shoes under the Johnson brand.
The proposed disposal was in line with the Mulpha Group's plan to dispose of unprofitable investments and would allow the group to focus its resources and efforts on other profitable trading operations.
The proposed disposal will result in a group gain of some RM2.6mil.
Date : 16/12/2003
Mulpha
Completes Share Buyback (The Star, Sin Chew, China Press)
The group completed its share buyback programme
last month, up to 139.4 million shares or 10% of its issued share capital
at 44.7 sen each.
Mulpha's Chief Executive Officer, Chung Tze Hien points out that not only
was this price below the net tangible assets (NTA) of RM1.34 a share;
it was below the shares’ par value of 50 sen.
"A cancellation of the shares bought
back will increase the NTA and EPS by 10%", says an analyst. "The
group has the cash flow for the buyback scheme and it continues to generate
cash flow that can be used for further buybacks", he adds