Divestment of TMC

I just submitted my form to CDP  today to sell off my Thomson Medical Centre shares. Peter Lim is currently holding 85.42% of TMC and it’s no point that I hang on to mine as well. He is probably going to gain full control of TMC and de-list it thereafter.

It’s actually hard to let go a gem of a stock. TMC has always been a star in many investor’s portfolio due to its strong balance sheet, great cash flow and astute management. Looks like I have to hunt for other value companies now….

TMC FY2010 analysis

Thomson Medical Centre released the FY2010 results on 26th October 2010. TMC did not disappoint as usual. I have updated my analysis to include FY2010’s results.

Its revenues grew 21.2% compared to FY2009. Net profit grew 27.8% for FY2010. The gross profit margin and net profit margin improved as well. GPM is at 43.71% while NPM is very close to 20%.

Looking at balance sheet, it has zero debt with total cash, including fixed deposits, standing at $30.5 million. Its ROE and ROA improved as well. ROE, excluding reserved valuation, stands at 27.6% compared to 21.6% in FY2009. ROA stands at 9.7%. Retained earnings increased to $28 million. Equity stands at $142.1 million and the equity CAGR is at 15.05% over the 5 years.

At the cash flow front, free cash flow is at $20 million for FY2010. Capex expenditure was a mere $808,000 for FY2010. This showcases the great cash generating abilities of TMC!

The intrinsic value of TMC stands at $1.16 when using DCF. I used current year FCF of $20 miilion, discount rate of 5% and cash flow growth rate of 15% (the actual average FCF growth rate is at 22.46%).

My take on Peter Lim’s offer

Peter Lim has offered $1.75 per share. This is at a premium of 51% over the intrinsic value I calculated.  I’m still torn whether to keep my shares or sell it. One part of me wants to keep the shares as TMC is a gem and I feel it has potential to grow even further. The other part tells me to sell as I don’t know if Peter Lim will act in the interest of shareholders just like the management of TMC and whether he will meddle with the daily operations of TMC. A win-win situation would be when Peter Lim doesn’t interfere with the operations of TMC and also provides money for TMC to expand in Singapore following the space crunch that has been around for some time.  Since Peter Lim is buying over a huge stake of 39.34% of the company, he might even have plans to buy the whole company and de-list it. We don’t know what his real intentions are. I will just wait and see for the next 2 weeks how this saga pans out and decide slowly…

BREAKING NEWS: Peter Lim makes General Offer for TMC

“Remiser King” Peter Lim, who was made more famous after bidding to buy over Liverpool, has offered $1.75 a share to buy over Dr Cheng Wei Chen and family’s 39.34% stake in Thomson Medical Centre. Dr Cheng is the founder and largest shareholder of TMC. The offer price is at a 62% premium over the last traded price of TMC. The cash offer will be extended to all the remaining issued shares and when 50% or more of the remaining shares are agreeable to be sold, the shareholders will get $1750 per lot. Owners of TMC will receive a offer letter no earlier than 14 days and no later than 21 days.

I believe Peter Lim has been eyeing TMC for some time and with the stellar FY2010 performance (I will be analysing FY2010 results in another post), it gives him added impetus to be the largest shareholder of TMC. At $1.75, TMC P/E will be at 32.3. Current P/E is at 19.9. Peter Lim might even buy over the whole company and de-list TMC. I’m actually not willing to let go of TMC, even at $1.75, as I feel that it has potential to grow even further. But then again, if Peter Lim decides to buy over the whole company, I would have no choice but to sell my stake. Looking forward to Monday opening to see how the market will react to this news. I believe the share price of TMC will skyrocket on Monday.

Source: http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/VwAttachments/Att_15B84C10877ACE69482577CB003FD162/$file/Media_Release_Peter_Lim_makes_general_offer_for_Thomson_Medical_Centre_Limited.pdf?openelement

TMC space crunch

When I visited Thomson Medical Centre last year for a tour, the first thing that I realised was that TMC was rather small compared to other hospitals. The walkways at some areas were narrow and the ground floor was cluttered. I don’t remember the management discussing about this issue until as recent as last month.

In an interview with CIMB last month, TMC’s CEO and CFO touched on the space constraints of TMC and their plans to address this issue. The CFO said that to accommodate more specialists in TMC, it has to expand. The CEO added that the government has been consulted about getting a suitable site nearby or somewhere within the medical belt area. TMC is also downsizing the kitchen area to free up space for 2 more operating theatres and around 2 delivery rooms.

I certainly hope that TMC will get hold of a suitable area to expand to quickly if it wants to attract more patients and be the runaway leader in the obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) sector. TMC is already doing very well and this is the only gripe I have about this business.