SINGAPORE (Oct 27): Nera Telecommunications announced on Wednesday that its CEO Samuel Ang had resigned from the group on Oct 24.

While Ang serves an 18 month notice to facilitate the leadership transition, NeraTel appointed former head of network infrastructure business unit, Beck Tong Hong, as its interim CEO.

What does this mean for the group and its investors?

RHB analyst Jarick Seet said in a note on Thursday that the management has confirmed that there would be no change in the company’s direction, and will continue to growth its network infrastructure business organically.

Seet also understands that Beck has had a proven track record within the company, with experience in “sales, business development, presales, products-solutions-and-technologies, and service delivery”.

“He was also tasked to identify opportunities to expand the business into the Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions, through both organic and non-organic means,” he said.

More importantly, NeraTel’s management has confirmed that its plans to distribute a special dividend to shareholders has not changed following the sale of its point of sales business.

Seet estimates that the group could announce the payout in the upcoming 3QFY16 results and has forecast a special dividend of at least 16 cents, representing a dividend yield of as much as 25%, including its recurring 2 cents dividend.

To that end, Seet has maintained its “trading buy” on NeraTel with an unchanged target price of 80 cents.

However, Seet also cautioned that NeraTel’s controlling shareholder and private equity company, Northstar Group, could choose to realise its investment gains through the sale of the remaining network infrastructure business.

Seet believes such a sale would be “highly possible in the next one or two years” at the right price.

Shares in NeraTel are trading flat at 73.5 cents.