Sidney Chew Choon Tee, managing director and co-founder of MegaChem, has been increasing his stake in the speciality chemical solutions provider. On April 10 and 14, he scooped up 80,000 shares of the company at 30 cents each. The transaction brought his final direct shareholding to 45.9million shares, or 34.4% of the company. Chew is also deemed interested in another 434,296 shares, or 0.3% of the company, owned by his wife, Liau Bin Bin.

 

Jeffrey Tan Bock Chia, co-founder and executive director of Mega- Chem, has also been raising his direct stake in the company. On April 10, he bought 100,000 shares at 28 cents each, bringing his final direct shareholding in the company to 22.9 million shares, or 17.2%. Tan has no deemed interest in the company.

 

For FY2013 ended December, Mega-Chem’s earnings decreased 17.8% to $2.8 million despite record sales of $108.7 million, a 2.3% increase from the previous year. This is mainly attributed to the higher manufacturing overheads and increased operating expenses, following the completion of its facility expansion in the middle of FY2012. Asean continues to be a core market for the company and contributes 67.9% to its sales. The US emerged as the group’s second-largest market, with sales of $11.4 million (10.5% of total sales). Sales in the group’s other markets of North Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia were  generally lower, as these markets saw weaker demand for chemicals.

 

Meanwhile, Jannie Chan, vice-chairman and co-founder of The Hour Glass, has been increasing her stake in the company. On April 16 and 17, she acquired a total of 21,000 shares at an average price of $1.73 apiece. The transactions brought her final direct shareholding in the company to about 7.5 million shares, or a 3.2% stake. She is deemed to be interested in another 108.3 million shares from her interests in TYC Investment.

 

The Hour Glass is engaged in retailing and distributing watches and jewellery. The company’s brand portfolio includes Audemars Piguet, Bvlgari, Cartier and Rolex. Last year, it opened two Ladurée outlets in Singapore, stocking the brand’s signature macarons. For 3QFY2014 ended December, The Hour Glass reported a revenue of $179 million, a 13% increase from 3QFY2013. This was due to an expanded retail network and increased marketing activities. However, earnings were $14.2 million in 3QFY2014 compared with $14.9 million in 3QFY2013, a decrease of 4.7%.

 

Elsewhere, Lee Ee, managing director of Progen Holdings, has been purchasing shares in the air-conditioning and ventilation company. On seven occasions between April 7 and 22, he purchased more than 1.97 million shares of the company at an average price of 14 cents each. The acquisitions brought his final direct shareholding in the company to 58.2 million shares, or 21.4% of the company. Lee is also deemed interested in another 913,041 shares, or 0.3% of the company, owned by his wife, Koh Moi Huang.

 

Progen Holdings, which Lee founded more than 30 years ago, designs, supplies, installs and does the maintenance of air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems. It provides services to industrial, commercial and residential developments in the public and private sectors. For FY2013 ended December, earnings rose 65.7% to $2.25 million as group revenue rose 16.5% to $12.4 million from a year ago. The increase in revenue was mainly due to increased activities from existing projects and revenue generated from new projects that commenced in FY2013.

 

 

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