Kingsmen Creatives

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 13 Aug 2010

Kingsmen Creatives Q2 profit up 30.2% to $4.6m

By VEN SREENIVASAN

DESIGN group Kingsmen Creatives chalked up a 30.2 per cent rise in second-quarter profit to $4.6 million as it booked in higher contributions from its exhibitions and museums and interiors divisions.

With the latest results boosting its first-half earnings 17.2 per cent to $6.9 million, from $5.9 million a year earlier, the company has declared an interim dividend of 1.5 cents a share.

Q2 revenue was up 22 per cent to $64.6 million, from $53 million a year ago, lifting H1 revenue 25.5 per cent to $111.3 million.

Kingsmen had $29 million cash at end-June and an order book of $187 million at the start of this month.

Its exhibitions and museums division registered Q2 revenue of $29.2 million, which was $2.2 million or 8.5 per cent more than a year earlier.

Key projects carried out by this unit included seven pavilions at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

Other projects included events such as Asia-Pacific Maritime 2010, Food and Hotel Asia 2010, the Singapore Airshow 2010, Tax Free Asia-Pacific 2010 and other trade exhibitions, and for Nissan/Infiniti at various auto shows.

The interiors division posted Q2 revenue of $32.3 million, which was $8.9 million or 38.1 per cent more than a year earlier.

This unit continues to pull in revenue from retail store roll-outs by key customers and brands such as Tiffany and Burberry in Singapore, Hong Kong and China.

Kingsmen said the opening of the Marina Bay Sands resort boosted its revenue: 'We have completed 13 shops which contributed about $6 million to our revenue as at H1, and have at least 13 more shops to be completed by year-end.'

Projects in hand include boutiques for brand names such as Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Chanel, Chaumet, Fendi, Polo Ralph Lauren, Swarovski, The Hour Glass, Tiffany & Co and Uemo Collezioni & Stefano Ricci.

Kingsmen's research and design division chalked up $1.3 million in Q2 revenue, while its integrated marketing communication division's revenue came in at $1.8 million.

The company's executive chairman Benedict Soh said Kingsmen delivered well on all its projects.

'With Asia spearheading the global recovery, our operational footprint is exactly where it ought to be - at the heart of where it is all happening,' he said, adding that the government's drive to make Singapore a regional hub for MICE activities will further boost Kingsmen's opportunities.

'The next few years will be even more exciting for us as the world looks towards Asia for solutions,' Mr Soh added.

[Musicwhiz]

For info:-

Annualized ROE for Kingsmen Creatives stands at 24.9% for 1H FY 2010, and this is without leverage. Kingsmen's ROE has been consistently very high without excessive debt, their Balance Sheet is strong and they are consistently generating Free Cash Flows every year. They also pay very regular dividends, at 1.5c/share interim and 2c/share final (for FY 2009).

[Musicwhiz]

MBS pulls in MICE crowd
By Mustafa Shafawi and Mok Fei Fei | Posted: 31 August 2010 1346 hrs

SINGAPORE: Marina Bay Sands said it has sealed nearly 370 deals which will bring over 345,000 participants to its Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

It said nearly 150 events have been concluded so far, drawing a crowd of 100,000 participants over a short period of four months.

Giving the numbers Tuesday, Marina Bay Sands said the deals show its ability to draw marquee events and smaller intimate meetings, conferences and weddings.

Upcoming events include new trade shows such as Art Stage Singapore 2011 and 2012 and Cruise Shipping Asia 2011.

Sands Expo and Convention Centre has a total area of 120,000 square metres spread across five floors.

Marina Bay Sands said it is expanding and working on more than 500 additional prospects for exhibitions, meetings, incentives and conventions.

-CNA/wk

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 23 Feb 2011

Kingsmen posts $15.1m profit

The group also announces dividend of 2.5cents per share

By VEN SREENIVASAN

INTERIORS and design specialist Kingsmen Creatives unveiled flattish full year profit growth but announced a generous dividend to mark its 35th anniversary.

The mainboard company posted $15.1 million in earnings for the year ended Dec 31, 2010, just 1.1 per cent up from the previous year's $14.9 million.

This was achieved despite a 2.8 per cent drop in topline revenue to $235.2 million, from $242 million a year earlier.

But the group announced a dividend of 2.5 cents per share, comprising a final dividend of two cents and a special dividend of half a cent to mark its 35th anniversary.

Based on its closing share price of 56 cents yesterday, this payment alone works out to a yield of 4.5 per cent. Combined with the interim dividend of 1.5 cents declared in August 2010, the total dividend per share for FY10 is four cents.

Commenting on the results, group executive chairman Benedict Soh said: 'As expected, 2010 was a challenging year for us as we sought to fill the vacuum left by the completion of the Universal Studios Singapore project in 2009. Our divisions have done well to fill the gap, and we are well positioned to ride on the recovery and the influx of business and interest into Asia.'

'Moving forward, we envisage that our growth will be driven by our overseas offices, as they strengthen their competencies and deepen their relationships with international brands,' he added.

With the completion of the $78 million worth of jobs at Universal Studios Singapore, the company's Exhibitions & Museums division posted a revenue of $105.2 million last year, down from $137.4 million in FY09.

Its Interiors division continued to perform well, posting a 24.5 per cent rise in revenue to $116.6 million, thanks to a steady pipeline of retail interiors rollouts in Singapore, China and across the region.

Its Research & Design division's revenue grew 11.7 per cent to $6.4 million in FY10, while revenue from its IMC division increased from $5.2 million to $7.0 million.

The company has $84 million worth of contracts in hand, of which $70 million will be recognised this year. It recently clinched several thematic projects including Universal Studios Singapore, Gardens by the Bay and the Hong Kong Disneyland Extension.

Anticipating strong growth in China, the company is boosting its presence there by setting up a more integrated production facility in Beijing which will be fully operational by the second half of this year.

'Moving forward, we are confident of continuing this momentum as we are at the heart of the Asian led global recovery with the key markets we cover indicating strong economic growth in the coming years,' Mr Soh added.

[Musicwhiz]

Dear all, Part 1 my comprehensive analysis on Kingsmen's FY 2010 Financials is now up on my blog. Please feel free to visit and leave comments, thanks!

A snippet as follows:-

"The bottom line was, however, impacted by the fact that other income was slightly lower, while staff salaries and related expenses rose by 8.1% and other expenses rose by a larger 17%. If we break down the reasons, it was mainly due to the increase in staff salaries of about S$2.6 million, as well as higher operating lease expenses of S$300,000 and a write-off for their fire-gutted Malaysian factory premises of S$400,000."

Note: I am vested and have recently added to my existing position.

[Musicwhiz]

Dear all, Part 2 of my comprehensive analysis on Kingsmen's FY 2010 Financials is now up on my blog. Please feel free to visit and leave comments, thanks!

A snippet as follows:-

"This seems to indicate that Kingsmen would be better off focusing on growing their Interiors division as it is more profitable than M&E, but the flip side of the argument is that M&E contracts are much larger and “prestigious” and so far have also opened up more doors (i.e. customers) for Kingsmen."

[Musicwhiz]

Dear all, Part 3 of my comprehensive analysis on Kingsmen's FY 2010 Financials is now up on my blog. Please feel free to visit and leave comments, thanks!

A snippet as follows:-

"I refer to an article in Channel News Asia dated September 19, 2010 which mentioned that Asia’s growing middle class is fuelling a “boom” in theme parks. To summarize the article, it mentioned that Asia is fast becoming the new destination for tourists due to cheaper air travel (i.e. budget airlines) and growing affluence in countries like Indonesia, China and India. The theme park phenomenon is shifting to Asia, says Christian Aaen, Asian regional director of research firm AECOM Economics, which specialises in entertainment and leisure industry analysis."

[Musicwhiz]

Dear all, Part 4 of my comprehensive analysis on Kingsmen's FY 2010 Financials is now up on my blog. Please feel free to visit and leave comments, thanks!

A snippet as follows:-

"Revenues-wise, it seems apparent that Kingsmen and Pico have a larger revenue base than Cityneon. This is in spite of Cityneon starting up around the same time or even earlier than Kingsmen. If we look at gross margin, however, it is interesting to note that Kingsmen’s gross margins lags behind the other two competitors, who have managed to hit 30+% for FY 2009. This may be just a temporary “blip” though, for gross margins seem to have begun to normalize for FY 2010 as Kingsmen was awarded the huge parcel of work for USS in FY 2009 (and which yielded lower gross margins)."

[Musicwhiz]

I strongly recommend the following blog for its extensive coverage on the recent Kingsmen FY 2010 AGM.

http://financiallyfreenow.wordpress.com ... -2010-agm/

I will be posting my own highlights of the AGM this coming Sunday (May 8, 2011) after Election fever has cooled off. Watch out for it!

[Musicwhiz]

Dear all, Part 5 of my comprehensive analysis of Kingsmen is now up on my blog. Please feel free to visit and leave comments, thanks!

A snippet as follows:-

"Kingsmen is currently trading at a historical FY 2010 PER of 7.2x (EPS of 7.93 cents for FY 2010, last done price at 57 cents/share). Assuming the same valuation was accorded to it as the Cityneon buy-out 3 years ago (at 12.7x), Kingsmen’s fair value should therefore be in the range of $1.007. This would value the entire company at about $190 million (189.381 million issued shares), which still seems cheap compared to its cash generation potential, strong track record and capable Management Team."

Kingsmen also released their latest 1H 2011 results this evening, and declared a 1.5c/share interim dividend (unchanged from last year). Will analyze the results and post here when ready.