Dear Toh Gim Huat, you wrote:
I've noticed your retail division is starting to sell mobile phones online via eplanetworld.com. You have also added computer related products distributed by ban leong and convergent systems. You have tried to sell mobile phones online before if I remembered correctly but wasn't successful. I have a few questions relating to your e-commerce strategy.
1. What's the CAPEX for the e-commerce investment and how much government grant did you get?
2. How is the online sales ramping up? How is the margin compared to physical retail stores?
3. How many members do you have currently buying things on the website?
We would like to clarify that we have never previously sold mobile handsets online. We set up eplanetworld with the objective of reaching the underserved market of online shoppers which holds tremendous potential. It is also a platform for us to expand our range of product offerings beyond mobile handsets to include electronics products and to cater to 'long tail customers' - people who want the niche, special brands and models which brick and mortar (B&M) retail doesn't stock. We continue to remain committed to growing both our online and physical retail presence going forward and strive for the success of both.
Our CAPEX for this e-commerce investment is in line with other similar start-ups. Our application for government funding is currently being processed and hence we are unable to provide any details on this at the moment.
We are pleased with the progress made so far in terms of the range of products that we have brought to our e-store as well as the traffic to our site. It is premature to make any margin comparisons with our retail shops at the present time as we have only been operational since February 2014. We are in the process of ramping up our marketing activities for eplanetworld.com. It is steadily gaining traction and we are building up a healthy customer base.
Dear Pravin, you wrote:
Thanks for dividend of 1.60 cents for the year 2013 and strong financial performance for the year. How our company is expected to perform financially in case of current expected volatility in markets over the next 12 months due to QE tapering and emerging markets concerns. Thanks
In light of the uncertainties in the global economic situation caused in part by the factors you have alluded to, we are cautiously optimistic of our performance in the coming year. We, nonetheless, see business opportunities for each of the divisions which we can leverage on for sustainable growth.
For Personal Communications Solutions Services ("PCS"), the continued demand for smartphones together with the introduction of new models of Androids and IOS will boost handset sales and other mobile devices. PCS Services will extend its retail reach through its new e-commerce store, eplanetworld.com. PCS will also enlarge its scope of service offerings in its existing markets, working with our customers and principals, while looking for new growth areas and markets.
Info-Communications Technology Services ("ICT") will leverage on enterprise opportunities which exists in the area of on-line services, productivity improvement and technology refresh. ICT Services will develop new competencies and expand its product and service offerings in the enterprise space. ICT will also continue its momentum in breaking into new customer segments which it had success in doing in FY2013.
The roll-out of the LTE network in Singapore will be a major driver of current market opportunities for Engineering Services ("Engineering"). Regionally, network upgrading and expansion by the telecom operators are anticipated to continue, providing continuous opportunities for the division. Additionally, Engineering's extensive range of innovative and cost effective products for telecommunication access and coverage needs is gaining good traction in Vietnam.
Dear Tan Lay Hong, you wrote:
May I know why is the shares price don't move even though with good company result and good dividend? I had hold the company shares for more than 6 yr. The shares Px is still between .23 to .25 and have very illiquid.
Firstly, thank you for your loyalty and support. Our company's fundamentals are strong and we have a track record of profitability since inception. Our dividend policy of paying at least 30% of annual net profit after tax makes us an attractive investment. In a perfect market, the stock price is a reflection of the stock's future earnings and the confidence investors have that those earnings will be achieved. However, in reality, stock prices are determined by other market forces, including the overall sentiment driven by macro-economic factors. The volume of our shares traded is not high but share volume is not necessarily indicative of the soundness of an investment.
Dear Tan Ping Chu, you wrote:
I see a lot of your starhub store closed down. Did you close down the stores because of poor location or starhub want to take back the location and run it themselves?
How do you operate your samsung shops? Who pays for the rental? samsung or planet telecoms? Are you planning to open more samsung shops?
We made the decision to close some shops based on several factors, among them being the effective reach of the shop to our target customers, opportunities that exist elsewhere in the form of new retail spaces that may become available as well as other operational considerations. We strive to maintain the accessibility of the StarHub shops to consumers in all parts of Singapore. In the course of the year, we opened a new third StarHub Platinum outlet at Westgate Mall and we expect to open more Platinum outlets this year.
Due to commercial sensitivities and the confidentiality of our agreement with Samsung, we are unable to disclose details of our service contract with Samsung. We enjoy a strong and close working relationship with Samsung, which has seen us opening two Samsung Concept Stores during the year, at Paragon and Bedok Mall, besides the existing store at Nex. This brings the total number of Samsung Concept Stores to three.
Dear Jayster, you wrote:
You mention other ways to make money with starhub, can you elaborate?
Your new president, what does he bring to the table to grow both the business and value for shareholders?
We constantly seek ways to value add to our existing partners such as StarHub, which will enable us to grow our revenue stream. Our fulfilment, supply chain services and retail management services contract with StarHub has recently been extended and we continue to work closely with them to explore ways to create and further add value. It is too premature to disclose any details of our explorations with them at this stage. We will make any necessary announcements in due course.
We are pleased to have on board, Mr Vincent Lim, as our new President. Mr Lim brings with him 28 years' of information technology ("IT") experience. His former appointment was Vice President of Enterprise Data and Managed Services in SingTel which gave him responsibility over more than $450 million of product business leading a team of more than 500 people. With his depth of experience in the telecommunications and IT sectors, he is the right person to bring the organisation to a new level of long-term sustainable growth given the changes in and convergence of information technology and telecommunications in recent years.
Dear Investors,
Thank you for all your questions and your interest in TeleChoice International Limited. We have come to the end of this Online Q&A session.
We have enjoyed the session and have learnt from your questions. We hope that through the Online Q&A, you have gained better insights to our Company and our operations.
Regards,
The Management Team
TeleChoice International Limited
