Boustead Singapore has raised its stake in its subsidiary company. On Dec 9, Boustead Singapore acquired on the open market 567,000 shares of Boustead Projects, which closed at 80 cents that day.
According to Boustead Projects’ annual report, Boustead Singapore holds around 170 million shares as at June 17 or around 54.26%.
As a result of this transaction, Wong Fong Fui, chairman and group CEO of Boustead Singapore, saw his deemed stake in Boustead Projects increase from 231.5 million shares or 73.903% to nearly 232.1 million shares or 74.084%. Wong has led Boustead since 1996.
In 1HFY2023 ended Sept 30, Boustead Projects reported revenue dropped 34% y-o-y to $117.7 million, mainly due to lower revenue contributions from its engineering and construction business. However, earnings increased by 30% y-o-y from $5.9 million to $7.7 million.
Since the start of FY2023, Boustead has secured around $320 million in new contracts, bringing its order book to $452 million. The company’s net asset value per share as at Sept 30 was 126.5 cents, up 3% versus 123.4 cents recorded for Sept 30, 2021. It expects to record better earnings for the whole of FY2023 compared to FY2022.
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Sarine wins lawsuit in India
Sarine Technologies, an Israel-based diamond industry services provider, has actively bought back its own shares. The most recent was on Dec 8, when it acquired 80,000 shares at between 38 cents and 38.5 cents each. This brings the cumulative number of shares bought under the current mandate to nearly 3.06 million shares, equivalent to 0.88% of the total.
Before the latest transaction, Sarine Tech had bought 35,000 shares at between 39 cents on Dec 1, 51,300 shares at between 38 cents and 38.5 cents on Dec 5 and 12,000 shares at 38.5 cents each on Dec 7. Sarine Tech was actively buying throughout October and November as well.
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Sarine Tech on Dec 11 announced it had won a legal victory in India. Following the lawsuit filed by Sarine Tech and the subsequent court-ordered raids, five manufacturers in the city of Surat were found guilty of copyright infringement and the illegal use of Sarine Tech’s rough planning software called Advisor.
According to Sarine Tech, due to the “severity of the issue” and the “clearcut evidence” collected during the raids, the court issued a quick and final judgement against the five manufacturers: Gopi Impex, Nirghay Impex, Pramukh Gems, Dhiren Diamonds and Bhumika Gems. The court has also ordered the infringing software be removed from computers belonging to these companies.
David Block, Sarine Tech’s CEO, says the court’s ruling has made it clear that any company using unlicensed or pirated software from Sarine Tech is breaking the law. “We intend to aggressively protect our IP and will continue taking action against any entities involved in infringement,” he adds.
On Nov 13, Sarine Tech reported that revenue for 3QFY2022 ended Sept 30, was up 20% y-o-y to US$14.5 million ($19.65 million). However, because of higher costs, earnings did not grow as much as revenue although it did increase 12% y-o-y to US$2.2 million.
Sarine Tech also announced a new dividend policy to pay out 80% of its earnings, subject to various considerations. In line with this new policy, for 3QFY2022, the company has declared a special dividend of 0.5 US cents per share, which was paid on Dec 9.
Sarine Tech warns that geopolitical uncertainties are expected to continue through the end of 2022 and quite probably into 2023. “The latest data from the key US market indicate the economy and consumer demand remain robust, and inflation has cooled somewhat, allowing retailers to remain cautiously optimistic on prospects for the year-end holiday season,” Sarine Tech adds.
