On 1st of December 2017,attended SPH AGM which was scheduled to start at 230pm.
This time, more ushers is deployed after enter into its premises through the Guard post & there is even a security check point before entering into the auditorium & perhaps is the culture the new CEO bring in from his previous appointment in SAF.
Surprisingly, the newly appointed CEO Ng arrived very early at about 2pm and mingled around with the shareholders in the auditorium. He was happily chatting with the shareholders, looks very friendly & humble to me.
Chairman Lee's & CFO Tony start its AGM by briefly presents SPH future plans & development as follows:
1. Later in 2018, SPH will start to sell residential units from its Bidahari project.
2. Will grow it's healthcare business, Orange Valley into a important & sustainable business pillar
3. Invested in Education business in Han Language Centre (75% stake) & Mind champs (20% stake).
4. Increase it's stakes in Chinatown Point Mall to 27.35%.
5. 10% reduction in Company headcount completed in Oct 2017, a year ahead of schedule.
Future Business Profitability
With regards to a shareholder query on how to increase profitability with declining revenue ,Chairman Lee's acknowledges Social Media & Digital Advertisements have eroded Media revenue, with Facebook & YouTube as the dominant players in Digital advertising space.
But he was confident that SPH will capture some of the lost grounds from its competitors and to tackle that ,SPH had set up a Integrated Marketing Division to reach out to advertisers through Mobile, Radio , Print , Digital & Outdoor platform.
A shareholder suggested that SPH could bundle it's advertising platform in a way when a advertiser advertise on print , the advertiser can have its advertisement for free in Digital or Radio
But Chairman don't agreed to it & added that we should not underestimated our own strength & by doing this, it will undermine its Media business profitability which have operating cost to run.
Personally, I think it is a excellent idea maybe being over confidence is also not a good sign since Media business profitability have already taken a hit for so many years.
Lee's also emphasized SPH never neglects its core business in Media as they will continue to invest in it's digital media & continue to recruit staff who is well versed in Digital Media.
Splitting SPH business
A shareholder suggests to split SPH business into 2 new entity ,the Media & the Property.
But Chairman reiterates if not for Media business ,SPH will not have the financial resource to develops its property business & the foresight of its predecessor who kept the Property arms in SPH is now reaping rewards for its shareholder.
Future dividends
As whether SPH will cut it's future dividends. Chairman Lee's replied that SPH do not have a fixed dividend policy but will try to pay the best sustainable dividend.
SPH Huge Cash Reserves
A shareholder pointed out the cash reserve that is used for investment that earns 4.3 % annualized returns to date is low & he can do better than that & suggests the money to distribute as special dividends to shareholders which draws a huge cheerful response from the shareholder.
But Chairman calmly explains that the cash reserves is managed by external advisors/consultants which is experienced & competent. Furthermore , the objective is to preserve the cash reserves for any business opportunity arises in the future.
Orange Valley
Initially Chairman Lee's had replied to a shareholder question that SPH had paid a fair value for Orange Valley but later admitted that SPH had paid a premium for Orange Valley when another shareholder asked about the profitability of Orange Valley & the EBITA revealed by CFO Tony is quite low .
Big Data Analytic & Artificial Intelligence
A shareholder pointed out these 2 new areas which SPH can look into to leverage its strength to grow its business & Chairman said they will continue to study these option & in fact several years ago ,SPH had set up a data analytic team while it will continue to keep a eye on AI as it is still at infancy stage.
Capabilities of New CEO
A salvo had been fired from a shareholder to the new CEO Ng's on what lesson had he learnt in his previous appointment to help SPH in its core business.
Ng's summarizes that 1 man cannot change the business & it requires the collective efforts of a Team to do so and from the tone he replied I observed is still accommodating , friendly & humble.
The question session ends at about 430pm & as usual coffee, tea & water is provided.
This time, more ushers is deployed after enter into its premises through the Guard post & there is even a security check point before entering into the auditorium & perhaps is the culture the new CEO bring in from his previous appointment in SAF.
Surprisingly, the newly appointed CEO Ng arrived very early at about 2pm and mingled around with the shareholders in the auditorium. He was happily chatting with the shareholders, looks very friendly & humble to me.
Chairman Lee's & CFO Tony start its AGM by briefly presents SPH future plans & development as follows:
1. Later in 2018, SPH will start to sell residential units from its Bidahari project.
2. Will grow it's healthcare business, Orange Valley into a important & sustainable business pillar
3. Invested in Education business in Han Language Centre (75% stake) & Mind champs (20% stake).
4. Increase it's stakes in Chinatown Point Mall to 27.35%.
5. 10% reduction in Company headcount completed in Oct 2017, a year ahead of schedule.
Future Business Profitability
With regards to a shareholder query on how to increase profitability with declining revenue ,Chairman Lee's acknowledges Social Media & Digital Advertisements have eroded Media revenue, with Facebook & YouTube as the dominant players in Digital advertising space.
But he was confident that SPH will capture some of the lost grounds from its competitors and to tackle that ,SPH had set up a Integrated Marketing Division to reach out to advertisers through Mobile, Radio , Print , Digital & Outdoor platform.
A shareholder suggested that SPH could bundle it's advertising platform in a way when a advertiser advertise on print , the advertiser can have its advertisement for free in Digital or Radio
But Chairman don't agreed to it & added that we should not underestimated our own strength & by doing this, it will undermine its Media business profitability which have operating cost to run.
Personally, I think it is a excellent idea maybe being over confidence is also not a good sign since Media business profitability have already taken a hit for so many years.
Lee's also emphasized SPH never neglects its core business in Media as they will continue to invest in it's digital media & continue to recruit staff who is well versed in Digital Media.
Splitting SPH business
A shareholder suggests to split SPH business into 2 new entity ,the Media & the Property.
But Chairman reiterates if not for Media business ,SPH will not have the financial resource to develops its property business & the foresight of its predecessor who kept the Property arms in SPH is now reaping rewards for its shareholder.
Future dividends
As whether SPH will cut it's future dividends. Chairman Lee's replied that SPH do not have a fixed dividend policy but will try to pay the best sustainable dividend.
SPH Huge Cash Reserves
A shareholder pointed out the cash reserve that is used for investment that earns 4.3 % annualized returns to date is low & he can do better than that & suggests the money to distribute as special dividends to shareholders which draws a huge cheerful response from the shareholder.
But Chairman calmly explains that the cash reserves is managed by external advisors/consultants which is experienced & competent. Furthermore , the objective is to preserve the cash reserves for any business opportunity arises in the future.
Orange Valley
Initially Chairman Lee's had replied to a shareholder question that SPH had paid a fair value for Orange Valley but later admitted that SPH had paid a premium for Orange Valley when another shareholder asked about the profitability of Orange Valley & the EBITA revealed by CFO Tony is quite low .
Big Data Analytic & Artificial Intelligence
A shareholder pointed out these 2 new areas which SPH can look into to leverage its strength to grow its business & Chairman said they will continue to study these option & in fact several years ago ,SPH had set up a data analytic team while it will continue to keep a eye on AI as it is still at infancy stage.
Capabilities of New CEO
A salvo had been fired from a shareholder to the new CEO Ng's on what lesson had he learnt in his previous appointment to help SPH in its core business.
Ng's summarizes that 1 man cannot change the business & it requires the collective efforts of a Team to do so and from the tone he replied I observed is still accommodating , friendly & humble.
The question session ends at about 430pm & as usual coffee, tea & water is provided.
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