Marco Polo Marine’s executive chairman Lee Wan Tang bought 155,000 shares in the company on the open market at 38.5 cents each on May 23. The move doubles his direct stake in the group, which is in the shipbuilding and chartering businesses, to 0.09%. Lee also owns an indirect interest of 55.7%.
Lee’s purchase came two weeks after Marco Polo Marine reported that earnings for the March quarter fell 27% y-o-y to $5.4 million, hit by lower chartering margins and reduced contributions from subsidiaries. Revenue, on the other hand, grew 43% to $22.1 million, driven mainly by building and repair operations.

 

In a sign of confidence in the demand for its services, Marco Polo Marine earlier this month commenced construction of a third dry dock at its shipyard in Batam, Indonesia. The $10-million facility is expected to be completed in 1Q2012. Its shares closed at 39.5 cents on May 25.

 

Meanwhile, Sing Holdings’ managing director Lee Sze Hao boosted his direct stake in the property developer to 1.46% from 1.39% via the acquisition of 280,000 shares on the open market at 31 cents each on May 23. Together with his 33.94% deemed stake, Lee owns 35.4% of Sing Holdings.

 

In early May, Sing Holdings turned in a 1Q2011 net profit of $4.3 million, reversing a loss of $900,000 a year earlier, as revenue quadrupled to $34.4 million. The top line was driven by the progressive recognition of sales at its BelleRive and The Laurels residential projects in Singapore. The developer replenished its residential landbank in recent months through several en-bloc acquisitions. Its shares closed on May 25 at 31.5 cents, below its most recent net asset value per share of 36.7 cents.

 

Elsewhere, several board directors of BRC Asia continued to increase their holdings in the steel supplier in recent months via open-market purchases. Group managing director Lim Siak Meng bought 1.5 million shares at 13.5 cents each on May 23, lifting his direct stake to 2.66% from 2.48%. On the same day, executive director Seah Kiin Peng acquired 200,000 shares at 13.5 cents apiece, boosting his direct interest to 0.09% from 0.066%.

 

The company said recently that earnings for the quarter ended March fell 37% y-o-y to $3.8 million as higher steel costs eroded profit margins and offset a 10% rise in revenue to $63.1 million. BRC Asia expects steel demand to remain stable for the rest of the year, supported by increased home-building activity in Singapore. Margins, however, are expected to remain under pressure amid stiff competition. Its shares closed at 13.5

cents on May 25.

 

Over at Treasury China Trust, independent board director Jen Shek Voon bought 25,000 units of the business trust on the open market on May 19 at $1.99 each, raising his entire holdings to 80,000 units, or a 0.03% stake.

 

The Singapore-based trust, which focuses on commercial real estate in China, reported in May a 1Q2011 net profit of $7 million, down from 4Q2010’s earnings of $20.9 million, which were generated mainly by foreign- exchange and fair-value gains on investment properties. Listed in June last year, Treasury China owns office, logistics and retail properties in Shanghai, Beijing and Qingdao. It intends to distribute 10 cents per unit in 2011. The units closed at $1.98 on May 25.

 

 

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