Last quarter of the year and a relative good one to end the year with. With the exception of UMS, there is not much changes in the business, as reported a quarter ago. The table below summarises their performances for the latest quarter.
A
iFAST
Another record quarter for iFAST, though the growth rate is lower as compared to previous two quarters. The group also took a new initiative by doing a webcast of its Q3 results. If you just want to read the presentation slides, you can view it here. My takeaways in this quarter reporting are the following.
- Contribution from Fintech Solutions IT fees has become more important. It is an interesting development and I feel that it is always good to have a new revenue stream.
- Company can have higher PBT margin as their top line increases. However, this has not been obvious over the past few years due to the cost in widening their products range.
- Taking a short term loan for the purpose of application of virtual bank in Hong Kong.
- With a larger product range, the potential market has increased and so company can still take a bigger share of Singapore and Hong Kong wealth management industry.
- Building a system for unit trust transactions for Malaysia EPF. Hope that it will have a spill over effect.
- Still growing in China but not huge enough yet. iFAST is the only wholly owned foreign entity that has license for fund distribution. Working to get a Private Fund Management license for accredited investors (1 million RMB).
I am happy with how the business is growing and evolving. Not looking to adding more in the near term as it is already occupying about 9% of my portfolio.
Arista Networks
The largest holding in my international portfolio. My knowledge of cloud networking or traditional networking is at most superficial. A reflection by CEO Jayshree Ullal on cloud networking decade provides a good introduction to what the company is all about. Going forward as I continue to read up about the business, I believe my understanding will remain as……superficial. While I am be conversant with the terms used but I doubt I will spend effort to understand the underlying technology.
My confidence in this counter comes from my perception that a talented and passionate team of leaders is running the company. Their credential, together with the track record since listing the company in 2014 shows that the company is in good hands. Its growth has been explosive from 2014 to 2017 with CAGR of revenue, earning per share (EPS) and free cash flow (FCF) at 41%, 61% and 74% respectively. The company has continued to grow this year, amid at a slightly lower rate. For the latest quarter, revenue and EPS are up by 29% and 30%.
With the company occupying 5.5% of my portfolio, I am unlikely to add on more in the near future.
B
Raffles Medical Group
The group continues to execute its expansion plan while remaining profitable with a strong cashflow for the quarter. 
I have no complain and will continue to hold on the my shares as I participate in their growth.
Food Empire
Another quarter of revenue growth but decreasing net profit. For the second consecutive quarter, the drop in profit was attributable to higher advertising and promotion expenses coupled with higher manpower cost. A weaker rouble created additional pressure. Operating cash flow also continues to drop due to an increase in its inventories as the group anticipated higher sales.
I am expecting a flat or slight growth in revenue for Q4 due to the weaker rouble as compared to last year. But net profit should jump as there was impairment last year. So for the full financial year, the group should report growth in both top and bottom lines.
I am satisfied with the progress the group is making in growing its revenue and diversifying its business. So I will continue to hold on the my shares.
Valuetronics
CE revenue continues to decline from last year’s exceptional numbers, compounded by the disruption in Danshui Factory during the quarter due to the flash flood. Despite that the number has increased over the previous quarter. So the number should continue to recover in the next few quarters. The strength really comes from the growth of its ICE segment with top line increases by 21% which is even higher than the 15% growth in Q1. 
Reported earning dropped by 12.8% largely due to recognising HKD13.6 million impairment loss for the flash flood. Excluding this one-off loss, profit for the quarter would probably have increased by about 10%. Cash flow continues to be strong which resulted in its net cash to increase to HKD798.2 million. This translates to about $0.32 per share!
I am happy with its performance and am positive of its coming quarters’ number. So it should be able to maintain its HK$0.20 final dividend. I might add slightly more if its price comes under further pressure.
VICOM
Another quarter of stable growth in both top and bottom lines. However, the group guided a weaker final quarter due to expected premature scrapping of COE with the increase in COE supply for the next quarter. I would expect a similar performance for the full year. I am hoping for $0.30 dividend for the year which will provide me a yield of 5.1% based on my average purchased price of $5.87. Of course, I will be more than happy if the group decides to continue to return its cash pile and maintains last year’s dividend.
I have decided to use my CPF to hold my VICOM shares, hence I have divested it from my cash portfolio to free up the cash for other positions.
B-
UMS
Reported numbers was not unexpected as guided from its last quarter’s results. The difference between this quarter and last quarter is that its growth in component sales is unable to mitigate the greater drop in its Integrated System. The big minus for me this quarter is the combination of a cut of dividend and seeing its vanishing cash due to its investment in JEP. The cash has acted as a buffer during the downturn and allows the group to continue to maintain its dividend but with the cash pile gone, it added pressure to the sustainability of its dividend during a down cycle. I know that this is a transition phase for the group as it seeks to diversify its core business and make it even more resilient. So the positives I am seeing is its increase in its component business which is still growing, the long term positive outlook of semiconductor industry and its attempt to turn around JEP.
With the increase in uncertainty of its dividend, it has increased my risk of holding the counter for income. I have pared down my stake to a level that I am more comfortable to hold.
Towards Financial Independence 