Insider moves: Envictus, Huationg and Plato Capital see trades from directors and top management
Kamal YP Tan, non-executive director of Envictus International, recently increased his stake in the company. On July 6, via a married deal, he acquired nearly 1.39 million shares at 14 cents each. This brings his direct stake to nearly 38.9 million shares or 15.7%.
In addition, Tan is deemed interested in another 51.3 million shares or nearly 20.8%. As such, his total interest has increased to just over 90.1 million shares or nearly 36.5%, up from 35.9% previously.
The last transaction involving an Envictus company director was in September, when non-executive vice-chairman Sam Goi Seng Hui made a series of acquisitions on the open market. The most recent filing indicated that Goi on Sept 17, 2020, acquired 127,600 shares for 9.8 cents each, bringing his total stake to just over 25.2%.
For the six months ended March 31, the company, which trades foodstuffs and run F&B outlets in Malaysia, reported losses of RM24.56 million ($7.9 million), down 6% from RM26.1 million a year earlier. Revenue in the same period fell 14.7% y-o-y to $195.6 million, as the movement restrictions put in place to curb the pandemic hurt its operations in general.
“The global economy is still struggling in 2021 amid the resurgence of Covid-19 infections despite the progressive rollout of vaccines. Looking ahead, the recovery of the group’s business is highly dependent on the containment of the Covid-19 disease locally and internationally and the timing of the roll-out of vaccines,” notes the company in its May 12 earnings commentary. Year to date, Envictus shares, typically very thinly-traded, are up around 14%.
Builder reverses into the red
Patrick Ng Kian Ann, executive director and CEO of Huationg Global, on July 9 acquired 50,000 shares for 10 cents each on the open market.
This increased Ng’s direct stake to 269,100 shares or 0.18%. In addition, he is deemed interested in another 121.8 million shares or 80.43%. Therefore, he now has a total stake of roughly 122 million or 80.61%.
In FY2020 ended Dec 31, 2020, Huationg reported losses of $7.5 million from earnings of $3 million reported in FY2019. Revenue fell 13.2% to $116 million in FY2020 from $133.6 million in FY2019 as anti-pandemic measures curtailed construction activities.
“In view of the challenging economic outlook, the group will remain operationally and financially prudent to conserve resources. The group will continue to leverage on our strength in civil works to seek opportunities in public infrastructure projects,” said the company in its earnings commentary on March 1, adding that its order book then stood at around $690 million to be fulfilled over the next five years.
As at Dec 31, 2020, the company’s NAV was 39.9 cents, down from the restated Dec 31, 2019, NAV of 47.7 cents per share.
Losses for hotel and IT operator widen
Lim Kian Onn, chairman and controlling shareholder of investment holding company Plato Capital, is gradually increasing his stake in the company. The most recent acquisition was on July 8, when he acquired 700 shares at $ 1.46 each on the open market. This brings his total interest to just over 8.9 million shares or 73.44%. Earlier on July 2, 5 and 6, Lim also bought 19,600 shares at $ 1.45776 each, 29,900 shares at $1.45124 each and 7,000 shares at $1.45714 each respectively. Between late April and May, Lim had also made similar sporadic acquisitions too.
On Feb 26, Plato Capital, an investment holding company with interests in hotels and IT, reported losses widened to $1.8 million in FY2020 ended Dec 2020 from losses of $730,000 in FY2019. Revenue in the same period was $1.7 million, up 58.9% from a year ago. As at Dec 31, 2020, Plato Capital’s NAV was $3.99 per share, significantly above what Lim paid for in his recent transactions.