This is indeed an extremely undervalued share. Steady revenue growth with more jobs to come, satisfying profit margin, smart business diversification as all the subsidiaries are making money inlcuding Optimax Eye Centre. Mid term TP 2.00
Mitrajaya - An 'Undervalued' Construction, Property Play? (Part 1)
With blue chips approaching their ceiling valuation and investors told to be selective, Mitrajaya presents itself as an under-researched small cap with potential. Will it finally be noticed?
Business Model: Mitrajaya Holdings Bhd calls itself a “multinational conglomerate with businesses in a diverse range of industries,” namely construction, property development, manufacturing and healthcare.
Investors should recognise this statement as aspirational rather than factual. Although the company has multi-million ringgit investments overseas, the bulk of its operations are based in the country. And at a market capitalisation of just RM341 million on Bursa Malaysia, the company is a long way off from rivaling the country’s blue chip conglomerates.
Construction has always been the mainstay of Mitrajaya’s business. Of total revenue of RM338 million recorded in the financial year ended December 2013, 64% came from the construction division.
The company’s order book is worth RM1.2 billion, dominated by two jobs. The first is the construction of new offices in Putrajaya for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the second, two blocks of condominiums in Cyberjaya.
Mitrajaya’s expertise in construction is a natural fit for its growing property division, which contributed 29% of total revenue. Last year, the company completed several residential projects in Puchong and Mont Kiara. In South Africa, the company is developing the Blue Valley Golf & Country Estate with revenue contribution of RM20 million last year.
Mitrajaya has discovered that money is better as a developer instead of a contractor. The construction division, while contributing 62% of revenue only accounted for 33% of pre-tax profit. In comparison, the property division returns almost half of pre-tax earnings.
The conglomerate in the making has small operations in manufacturing and healthcare, one of which is the Optimax eye specialist centre.
Shareholders and management assessment: Managing director Tan Eng Piow is one of the founding members and controlling shareholder of Mitrajaya with an effective ownership of 41% of the company’s shares.
Tan began his career at the Public Works Department (JKR). He has over 35 years of experience in the construction industry and is the man in charge of the company’s ambitious expansion plans.
Chairman Ismail Hassan is a former Chief of Army with 36 years of service in the Malaysian Armed Forces.
Two other non-executive directors, both former civil servants and two executive directors, one with a civil engineer and the other a chartered accountant, make up the rest of the board of directors. Share performance: At the start of the year, Mitrajaya’s Bursa-traded shares were worth not more than 50 sen. In the three months between March and May, the stock rallied to almost double that.
Since then the counter has been trading more or less within the 85 sen to 90 sen band.
What analysts think: Investment bank Kenanga has the only known research house actively covering the company. In its latest report, Kenanga pegged its target price for the company’s stock at RM1.13 per share for a 30% upside.
Kenanga has a ‘trading buy’ recommendation on Mitrajaya. According to the research house, “the share price rally is not over yet.”
“We deem, at this current price, it is still ‘too cheap’ for a high double-digit growth stock like Mitrajaya,” Kenanga analyst Iqbal Zainal said.
According to Iqbal, Mitrajaya is trading at a low forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.6 compared to over eight for its peers.
“The key catalyst for its property division will be the launch of its new property project comprising three blocks of luxury condominiums in Wangsa Maju by end-2014,” he said.
“Despite the property cooling measures, we believe this project could achieve healthy take-up rates due to the strategic location adjacent to the LRT and Wangsa Walk mall.”
Even after recent share price revaluation, Kenanga thinks Mitrajaya an “under-researched” small cap stock “worth considering given its visible earnings growth prospects.”
A video presentation of Kenanga’s research report on Mitrajaya is available at this YouTube link.
Mitrajaya earnings forecast 180714Earnings forecast: According to Kenanga estimates, Mitrajaya’s net profit could grow at an impressive rate of 52% this year and 31% in 2015.
The research house noted that their estimates are “considered conservative” because they “only assume” an 8% and 20% pre-tax profit margin for the construction and property divisions respectively. Reported sector margins are allegedly several percentage points higher.
Last year, the company paid out dividends of two sen per share equating to a 2.4% dividend yield. Kenanga estimates has the dividend yield increasing to 4.7% in 2015.
Mitrajaya - An 'Undervalued' Construction, Property Play? (Part 2)
Stockstalk: First off, investors should exercise caution when considering a small cap such as Mitrajaya and any small cap for that matter. Note that the beta coefficient for the stock is 1.36, meaning it is 36% more volatile than the market as a whole.
Risk and return go hand in hand, so with luck, investors could see significant gains from their investment. According to Kenanga estimates, there is a potential for a 30% upside.
Kenanga estimates price the value of Mitrajaya’s shares almost a third higher than they currently trade at using the sector’s average price-to-earnings ratio, a generally accepted way to price traded securities, but not a cut and dried method by any means.
Investors ought to take Kenanga’s upbeat views with a healthy dose of cynicism. It certainly does not help that there are no other analyst reports from other research houses to compare against.
It is likely that Mitrajaya’s stock will track the health of the property market, which is not too bright at the moment. Sales of new properties plummeted in the first quarter (1Q14) after Bank Negara installed macro-prudential cooling measures to curb property speculation
But, as Kenanga pointed out, Mitrajaya’s property projects are a sure sell if priced right because of their location next to public transportation hubs. The company’s Wangsa Maju condominiums with an end-2014 launch date is located close to the Sri Rampai LRT station.
In a May interview with The Star, managing director Tan Eng Piow revealed plans to time the development of a parcel of commercial land in Puchong Prima with the completion of the Kelana Jaya LRT line extension to Putra Heights via Puchong.
Tan has repeatedly claimed that the company’s land bank has a market value of over RM600 million despite company accounts only listing the land bank at a book value of RM160 million.
Meanwhile, things are looking up for the construction sector. According to RHB Research there is a “record backlog” of government and government-related jobs to be awarded. They include various highway and rail projects as well as the PR1MA affordable housing scheme.
Years back, Mitrajaya participated in some of the country’s mega projects such as the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system and the Cyberjaya Flagship Zone.
A video presentation of Kenanga’s research report on Mitrajaya is available at this YouTube link. http://youtu.be/geZLJ0wUogk
Hoping this 2-part report will give everyone an understanding of Mitrajaya current status and its future potential.
"Tan has repeatedly claimed that the company’s land bank has a market value of over RM600 million despite company accounts only listing the land bank at a book value of RM160 million."
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
promaxsam
172 posts
Posted by promaxsam > 2014-07-14 21:06 | Report Abuse
Collect at 0.86 strong support , few days already