Roxy Pacific Holdings safe from liquidity crisis, says analyst

About 56% of its debt is secured on sold-out projects and the remaining on land sites, so don’t fret.

CIMB expects Roxy Pacific Holdings to launch three more projects in Q4 2011, but the company may be more cautious on acquisitions, given the rising macro risks.

Here’s more from CIMB:

Compelling value at current prices. At the current market cap of S$248m, Roxy Pacific Holdings is trading less than the independent valuation of its hotel asset alone (Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel "GMRH"), which is S$329m or S$590K per room - a fair valuation in the current hospitality market, in our view. Excluding GMRH, there is still an additional net equity of S$115m on its balance sheet. Moreover, we see little chance of a liquidity crisis, even in a bear scenario, as ~56% of its debt is secured on sold-out projects and the remaining on land sites.

Management buying shares. From end 2Q11 to date, we observe that ROXY management has cumulatively bought ~1.5m shares from the open market at an average price of S$0.46 per share. We believe this reflects management's belief that the share price currently reflects value. In addition, given ample cash on the balance sheet, we think management could further examine capital management options, such as a share buy-back program.

Expect three more launches in 4Q11. Despite recent macro uncertainties, we expect ROXY to launch three more projects in 4Q11. Everitt Building at 116 Changi Rd is expected to launch soon, with New Changi Hotel (80 Changi Rd) and Singapura Theatre (55 Changi Rd) to follow in Dec 11. All three projects are slated for strata-titled sales, and we expect launch performances to drive share price performance over 4Q11-1Q12. With the office sector facing inflection points ahead, we believe there were likely few, if any, concrete offers for Marina House (70 Shenton Way) which was put up for sale. As such, management is likely to go ahead with the project launch in 1Q12.

Likely cautious acquisition stance ahead. As of end-2Q11, ROXY had S$65m in available cash and fixed deposits, and management indicates additional debt headroom of S$150m. Despite ample ammunition currently, management would likely remain cautious in terms of acquisitions given heightened macro risks. Hence we expect acquisitions to stay bite-sized (<S$50m) with a preference for retail projects or mixed developments with sizable retail components.

Upgrade to BUY on compelling value. Given the macro uncertainties ahead, residential prices and sales volume would likely weaken in 2H11 but prices are unlikely to collapse significantly due to continued low interest rates and healthy liquidity. At the current ROXY share prices, we believe there is compelling value and a significant margin of safety. Upgrade to BUY with a fair value estimate of S$0.48 (30% discount to RNAV).

Join Singapore Business Review community
A NOTE FROM SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW

If you've been wondering whether SBR could work for your company — yes, probably.

A lot of the companies we partner with started as readers. They'd been following our coverage for a while, saw their own customers and competitors in it, and eventually asked the obvious question: could we do something with you? The answer is usually yes. The shape of it depends on what you're trying to do.


The options are broader than most people assume — thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. Some partners use one channel; most use a mix. We figure out the right combination by starting with your brief, not with our rate card.


So if the question has been on your mind, here's the easy way to ask it.

We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how. It's a better use of everyone's time.