Mulpha ... Mar11

Mulpha International Bhd, which reported a 10-fold increase in its net profits for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2010 (FY10), will likely be paring down its debts by at least RM300mil this year.

Mulpha will also be continuing with share buybacks.

Its latest financial results show that Mulpha has a cash and bank balance of some RM372.6mil. In addition, Mulpha will be receiving RM327mil by end-March 2011 from the sale of its Hilton Melbourne Airport Hotel, potentially raising the company's cash levels to around RM700mil or 56% of its total debt levels of RM1.24bil.

It will reduce its debt so long as it has no better use of our funds. It is constantly looking for suitable assets and businesses to which it can add value.

Mulpha's board was currently reviewing its dividend policy. No dividends were declared when it announced its FY10 results earlier this week. The absence of dividends has been a grouse of some Mulpha shareholders.

The main contributors to the group's performance were its associate companies, namely FKP Property Group and Mudajaya Group Bhd, and Mulpha's property development and investment assets.

The strong turnaround in performance of Mulpha is also the result of its Australian associate FKP, not having to further provide for material asset impairments as values have firmed considerably since 2009. With the impending settlement of the sale of the Hilton Melbourne to be completed in the first half of 2011, the group is expected to record an even stronger performance for the current year.

Mulpha owns 22% of construction firm Mudajaya, and 25% of the Australian-listed FKP, which is the largest private sector owner-operator of retirement villages in Australia and New Zealand.

Going forward, “there would be little if any impairments of its Australian assets as asset prices there have firmed up considerably.”

It NTA (net tangible asset) is RM1.24 as at the end of 2010 prior to a revaluation of assets.

Mulpha group was increasingly finding development returns overseas “outstripping opportunities locally.” It would like to expand its land holdings further in Malaysia and overseas through acquisitions and joint ventures.

Mulpha's prized assets in Australia include the InterContinental Hotel in Sydney, Sanctuary Cove, a resort-styled property development in northern Gold Coast and Hayman, a five-star private island destination in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Mulpha also developed and owns the Leisure Farm Resort, a vast resort-styled residential development in Johor.

Mulpha's net assets per share stood at RM1.24 as at Dec 31, compared with RM1.92 the previous year. The reduction was due to the dilution arising from the two-call rights issue subscription that was completed in the first quarter of 2010.