Thursday 29 February 2024

Summary of February 2024

Following my purchase of Mapletree Logistics Trust in January, I continued my purchasing in February when opportunity presented itself.
 
My queue for Netlink NBN Trust @ $0.84 got filled at the end of trading hours. This is an addition to existing position and an average up at that. Coincidentally, last month's purchase of MLT was also done on the 29th.
 
2929. Huat Ah!
 
This purchase price translates to a dividend yield of more than 6.2%.
 
Have been monitoring the market every day as usual. There was a dip in price earlier this month for majority of the counters in my watchlist - if I remember correctly, the dip lasted only for the trading hours before lunch on that particular day.
 
I wasn't in time to make my move then due to work. Nevertheless this week NLT presented a comfortable price for me to add and eventually I got it after queuing for two days.
 
This price is slightly lower than the $0.845 that Netlink NBN Management executive director and CEO paid for his purchase of 100,000 units on 16th Feb. 
 
Another reason is the announcement of the S$100 million investment from the government into the national broadband network upgrade.
 
While the details on how this will impact NLT's financials are not clear at this moment, I believe this NBN upgrade will at least stabilise NLT's profitability and provide visibility on its business outlook in the next 2 - 3 years.

This helps to allay my concern on the sustainability of NLT's dividend payout moving forward.

On a side note, next month should see some dividends coming in from various counters including MIT, MLT and CLCT. As usual, will reinvest into the portfolio to let compounding works its magic for me.

With that, till next time. Cheers.

Thursday 1 February 2024

Summary of January 2024


 
Blink of an eye and last day of January is here. 11 more months to end of the year. Lol..
 
Home. Kids have been falling sick one after another. Can't help but feel worried. On the other hand, got to find time to start on the spring cleaning. 10 more days to Lunar New Year.
 
Accidentally broke the handle of my metal gate recently. Damn. Didn't know a wrought iron gate handle can break so easily. Nevertheless I always believe things happen for a reason.
 
Taking this chance to change to digital lock for both gate and main door. Installation on next Wednesday.
 
Work-wise, have completed some of the projects on hand and the remaining in various stages of completion. New ones are coming in. I look forward to another great year after last year's record-breaking results.
 
For my sideline, most clients have came back from their holiday and income for this month is higher than projected. I look forward to another record-breaking year for this stream too.
 
School-wise, have finally submitted my dissertation today. That's a huge load off my shoulders. 18,000+ words, 82 pages. Don't think I have ever written such a long paper before. One of the best thing I came to realise from this Masters programme is that it re-ignited the joy of learning in me. I am even contemplating the possibility of a PhD if there is a topic that interests me enough to undergo the rigours in my 40s.
 
Investments-wise, made my first purchase of the year in Mapletree Logistics Trust at $1.53. MLT has released a good set of results recently of which I have written a review here.
 
Excluding RHT Health Trust which is going to be delisted anyway, I have 9 counters in my SGD portfolio. I am comfortable though no rush, to hold a portfolio of up to 12 counters.
 
Keppel Infrastructure Trust, Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust are the counters being considered though each has its own areas of concern in my opinion.
 
Have also went through the latest results of CapitaLand China Trust and the above three counters. No time to write my thoughts on these yet. See if I can do it in the coming week.
 
Moving forward will continue my strategy of adding monthly using funds from my sideline and incoming dividends. Focus will be on:
 
1) Selected REITs whenever price weakness is present
 
2) Local banks which might present opportunities to add in 2H / 3Q this year when rate cuts happen, or even earlier since market is forward-looking. Stay nimble and monitor. If prices are attractive enough, would not mind deploying extra cash.
 
3) Non-REIT income counters as diversification
 
Till next time. Cheers.

Thursday 25 January 2024

Mapletree Logistics Trust Financial Results 3QFY23/24 - The Good and The Bad

MLT released its latest quarterly results yesterday.
 
Did a quick run through and list down the salient points for my own reference as follows.
 
Good
 
Higher distributable amount and DPU Y-o-Y.
 
High portfolio occupancy.
 
Overall positive rental reversions despite negative reversions from China assets.

Relatively low leverage of 38.8%.
 
Low average finance cost of 2.5%. Impressive.
 
>3% interest coverage.
 
Well spread maturing debt profile. <10% of debt maturing in the next two years.
 
About 80% of distributable amount for the next 12 months hedged into SGD. Stabilises impact from Forex.
 
Well diverse geographically in terms of AUM and revenue. No more than 30% from each territory. Low concentration risk.
 
Diversified tenant base in terms of trade sectors. No one sector contributes more than 20% in terms of total portfolio revenue.
 
Largest tenant contributes <5% of total portfolio revenue. 

MLT commits to net zero emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2030. I always look out for these data since I'm an environmental guy both personally and professionally.
 
Steady demand for most of MLT's markets except for China.

Bad

Higher borrowings Y-o-Y due to higher renewed rates on unhedged loans. And this trend is expected to continue.

Negative rental reversions from China market expected for next few quarters. And China is the 2nd largest market for MLT in terms of revenue and number of properties.
 
Dividend
 
2.253 cents per unit.
 
To be paid on 20/3/2024.
 
Distribution reinvestment plan (DRP) will also apply to this round of distribution.
 
Issue price of each DRP unit will be priced approximately at 1.85% discount to the adjusted VWAP of ten market days leading to the record date of 1/2/2024.
 
Personal Take
 
Good set of results with average outlook.
 
China woes might be alleviated soon since the Chinese government has announced their set of stimulus to boost its economy. Among the measures is the expected injection of one trillion yuan in long-term capital into the market.

Apart from the financial side, this is also adding a dose of confidence and hope into the market which is urgently needed as reflected in the share price of chinese stocks nowadays.

MLT has always been among my favourite counters due to its strong and stable performance since I first bought into it some 6 years ago.
 
I'm pretty comfortable adding at today's price (1.56) which translates to >5.5% dividend yield. However it would be even better to add closer to 1.44 for bigger margin of safety. This is taking reference from the previous scrip issue price.

Mapletree Industrial Trust Financial Results 3QFY23/24 - The Good and The Bad

MIT released its latest quarterly results today after market hours.
 
Following will be a succinct post for my own reference on some salient points - both the good and bad in my opinion, as well as my personal take on the results.
 
Good
 
Positive rental reversions for all segments.

79.5% borrowings hedged.

Relatively low leverage of 38.6%.
 
Good interest coverage of >4 times.
 
Still healthy portfolio occupancy.
 
Largest tenant only contributes 6% to total portfolio gross rental income. 

Diversified tenants in terms of trade. Less concentration risk for downturn.
 
Maturing debts are quite well spread.

55.6% of AUM is in data centres which is good for now especially in North America where centres vacancy is low and average asking rental rate has been rising for the past two years. 
 
Also moving forward, the rise of artificial intelligence-related businesses should be good news for the data centre segment in general.

Bad

Funding cost below 3% would have been better in this environment. 
 
Distribution to unitholders is increased Y-o-Y partly because of compensation received for 2 and 4 Loyang Lane. Without that, the distribution to unitholders is actually quite flat.
 
Not so good outlook painted by management.
 
Possible hint at flat or declining forward DPU(s) due to possible rising operating expenses and increases in borrowing costs.
 
Dividend
 
3.36 cents per unit.
 
To be paid on 7/3/2024.
 
Personal Take
 
Set of results is not too bad. To be cautious of its outlook for the next three quarters at least.
 
Not likely to add at present price (2.44) unless there is a big positive catalyst. Will continue to add if unit price is closer to 2.40 or lower for bigger margin of safety.

Monday 1 January 2024

Taking Stock of 2023

Happy 2024 everyone.

2023 passed by relatively fast for me with so many things on hand throughout the year.

I'm glad I managed to squeeze in some things that I wanted to do on the last day of the year.

Changing the bedroom light, going for a haircut, buying some spare parts from the hardware shop, washing my car which is way overdue and updating my investment records.

Mundane things but feel good nonetheless when completed.
 
As usual, I'm writing this post as a wrap up for the year.
 
Family

Both kids are growing up well and with more bickerings now that didi has a wider range of vocabulary and his own thoughts.
 
Sometimes it just amaze me when I see them processing their thoughts and analysing the issue on hand despite their age. Indeed there are times when they behave and speak like an adult.

Jie jie especially, impressed me time and time again with her out-of-the-box thinking. She is the type that will observe on the side and proceed to try her own method to solve the issue. That is a very good trait to me.
 
Another positive thing we observed is that she is a keen learner. She likes to read and often take out her activities books to do on her own accord.

On the other hand, she has a very assertive character and most of the time she wants didi to follow her 'orders'. My wife and I are working on getting her to tone down on this.
 
Assertiveness per se is not a bad thing. But the degree and application of it must be appropriate.

Funnily enough, she is the shy type towards outsiders but once she got to know the person, shy is the last thing on her mind.

Didi on the other hand is just the opposite. He often literally walk up to strangers to chat them up and 'high five' them. My wife and I are working on getting him to tone down on this.
 
He is the playful type and likes to read too though less keen on the activities books.

I guess because of this seemingly polar opposite characters, mayhem breaks out in our household all too often.

Recently I came across a parenting article that suggests letting the kids work out a solution themselves when they fight. I think it is a good method and I intend to try it out.
 
Health-wise, everyone is generally healthy except for the occasional bouts of respiratory illness which are not Covid.
 
We went on a Genting Dream cruise in November and just came back from a trip to Bintan last week. These are good bonding cum educational sessions which I hope to do more often.
 
For now, I just hope for the kids to grow up healthy with good character.

Work

I have been pretty busy on the work front too. Just came back from a Tianjin trip in December where it was freezing cold.
 
In fact it was more than freezing since temperatures hovered around -10 to -15 deg C. A beer I bought from a 7-11 near my hotel froze when I reached my room. The walk from the 7-11 to my hotel room was less than 10 min.
 
Business has improved by leaps and bounds in 2023. There are about two months left before my financial year ends and revenue has almost doubled year-on-year. Bottom line is set to improve too.

On the flip side, there is a concentration risk as most of the contracts are from a single customer.

Hence moving forward, we have to work on maintaining this account while getting new customers onboard.

Sideline

2023 is my first full year doing this sideline. Earned a total of S$8,400 for doing something I love is not bad at all. Apart from the monetary return, I enjoyed other benefits from this sideline such as free gym facility, free parking and working area for me to work on my main job.

Targeting to hit at least S$10,000 from this sideline in 2024 which shouldn't be a stretch.

I am also planning to embark on another sideline in F&B which is another interest of mine. Have found a prospective partner though more detailed discussion is needed. Need to catch up with him on this soon.

Hopefully this venture will work out fine and bring in another source of income for me.
 
Study

Time flies since I started my Masters programme in NUS. So far so good is what I would describe the journey so far. In the blink of an eye, I am due to complete the programme in April 2024.

I am rushing to complete my dissertation now with the last chapter, conclusion and abstract to go. Once done, a big rock would be lifted off my shoulders.
 
Investments

SGD 
 
 
This remains my main portfolio, consisting mainly of income and some growth counters to provide a stable dividend-based return.
 
In 2023 I added some quality counters as stated below when opportunities arose. My strategy was to add monthly whenever possible and this will remain my strategy moving forward.
 
The volatility in 2023 means that the portfolio alternated between green and red throughout the year. Nevertheless the portfolio value was pushed up in the last month when the Reits ran up due to expectations of a pause in rate hikes.
 
Personally I expect the Reits to continue to run up at least for the first quarter of 2024 with the banks remaining flat for the same period.
 
Portfolio Value: $149,242.00
 
P/L (Realised + unrealised): $7,159.45
 
Dividends Collected: $7,790.27
 
Total Accumulated Dividends: $42,538.22
 
Added: Mapletree Logistics Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Ascendas Reit and CapitaLand China Trust 
 
Sold: None
 
USD / HK
 
This portfolio remains in the red mainly due to legacy losses and Alibaba's current share price.
 
Couple of counters are having unrealised gain of ~50%.
 
Portfolio Value (SGD equivalent): $15,389.61
 
P/L (Realised + Unrealised): -$27,710.39
 
Added: BABA
 
Sold: None
 
Summary
 
Total portfolios value at end of 2023: S$164,631.61.

Looking forward to make 2024 a more fruitful year with more time available on hand.

Tuesday 5 December 2023

Time Of The Year Again For Giving Back (Personal Donation)

This post is purely meant to serve as a gentle reminder and hopefully, inspiration for readers to do what you can to give back to the society in an amount that you can afford.
 
It is definitely not to show off or to achieve anything to that effect.
 
Apart from the recurring donations that I've been making through GIRO, I have a habit to make yearly donation to various causes at every year end.
 
So just did the latter for this year. Must admit I nearly forgot to do so as I went through the hustle of life. To think I even went on a cruise last week.
 
This year is largely the same as previous years. I made contribution to the causes close to my heart - the elderly and children.
 
In addition, I've made a maiden contribution to our animal friends due to an unfortunate incident that happened to me recently in relation to this subject.
 
 
In case you are wondering, I've made the donations through giving.sg

I think they charge 1.8% of the donated amount as administrative fees. To me that is acceptable and I prefer to use this platform as I personally find it has more credibility.
 
As a matter of fact, I hardly donate to fundraisers on the street as I can't be sure on the percentage of donated amount that actually goes to the people who need it most.

It is not to say these fundraisers are not genuine. Rather I just find it a hassle to verify their credibility.
 
As we busy ourselves going through the hustle and bustle of life, let's not forget those who might need a helping hand or two in theirs too.
 
While this post is about personal donation, I will usually donate in my company's capacity, a percentage of the operating net profit after the close of FY in February.

I was inspired by CapitaLand to do this and I hope I can continue to do so annually (Which means my business is profitable every year. Woohoo!).
 
 
Note: I am not affiliated with giving.sg or any of the charities shown in the post. I try to donate to different organisation every year anyway. As mentioned, I just hope to remind and inspire.

Friday 10 November 2023

Generational Issue or Just Personal Character?

Typing this now while having my chendol at Bukit Timah hawker centre as I just came across an interesting situation.

So I am seated alone at a table with some seats beside me still available. A lady aged about 30s to early 40s came over and asked me if the seats are available before putting her bag down.

Shortly after another lady aged about 60s came and sat down beside me without asking.

These contrasting behaviour got me thinking.

Is the difference in exhibited behaviours simply due to personal character or is it something deeper like societal norms from different times?

Note that I'm not saying either behaviour is right or wrong. 

What do you think?

From your personal experience, do people in their 60s and above (are they called boomers?) usually ask before sharing your table in public?