Maybank Securities analyst Jarick Seet has reiterated his bullish "buy" call on Singapore Post , with an unchanged price target of 77 cents.
According to Seet in his Feb 13 note, the situation at SingPost has "stabilised" with the return of Neo Su Yin to the company in the newly-created role of group chief operating officer.
The group CFO role has also been filled with the promotion of Isaac Mah, who was previously heading up the finance function at one of SingPost's Australia units.
Last December, SingPost fired its three top executives including group CEO Vincent Phang, group CFO Vincent Yik and head of its international business Li Yu.
The firings were attributed to mishandling of whistle-blowing complaints.
"The company has also reiterated its unchanged strategy which is to divest its non-core assets and to return value to shareholders," says Seet.
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SingPost has earlier said it will call for an EGM this month for shareholders to approve the sale of its Australia unit FMH for an enterprise value of more than A$1 billion. Another unit, Famous Holdings, is believed to be divested too.
"We are awaiting the circular for the EGM," says Seet, who estimates that SingPost will return part of the proceeds to shareholders in the form of special dividends at between 17 and 20 cents per share from the sales.
SingPost's domestic operations, which remain in a structural decline, will see more "right-sizing", says Seet. Postal rates will be further raised "down the road", he adds.
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"We believe shareholders should remain patient while awaiting closure of the Australian business sale and potential further asset sales. Eventually
rewards should come in the form of special dividends," says Seet.
SingPost shares changed hands at 55 cents as at 9.49 am, down 0.9%.
