The offeror, a unit of Nasdaq-listed GCL Global, plans to compulsorily acquire all remaining unacquired shares and delist the company

 

[SINGAPORE] The voluntary unconditional cash offer by video game distributor Epicsoft Asia to take technology products distributor Ban Leong Technologies   : B26 0%private closed at 5.30 pm on Wednesday (Jul 2). 

 

The offeror, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed GCL Global, received valid acceptances of about 96.6 per cent or 104.1 million of the company&rsquo s shares. 

 

These include an aggregate of 30.3 million shares or around 28.13 per cent of the total number of issued shares that were tendered in acceptance of the offer, by Ronald Teng, the managing director of Ban Leong, and his wife Teo Su Ching.  

 

Epicsoft Asia now owns, controls or has agreed to acquire all the valid acceptances it has attained. 

 

With the percentage of Ban Leong&rsquo s total issued shares held in public hands having fallen below the Singapore Exchange&rsquo s 10 per cent free float requirement, the counter will be suspended from trading as at 9 am on Thursday. 

 

The offeror said that it does not intend to support action or take steps to lift any trading suspension of the group&rsquo s shares or restore its public float.  

Instead, it plans to compulsorily acquire all remaining shares of Ban Leong that it does not yet hold and will subsequently delist the company.   

The company offering to take Ban Leong Technologiesprivate has announced that it has successfully acquired more than 90% of the total number of shares in the company.

 

As such, Epicsoft Asia, which now owns 92.92% of the total number of shares in Ban Leong, will proceed to exercise its right to compulsorily acquire the shares of the dissenting shareholders.

 

The resulting in the number of shares in Ban Leong held in public hands falling below 10%. As the free float requirement is no longer satisfied, the SGX has suspended trading of the shares at the close of the offer.

 

Epicsoft Asia, a subsidiary of gaming giant GCL Global, first made the bid to take Ban Leong Technologies private for a consideration of 60.29 cents per share on April 30.

 

Epicsoft received valid acceptances of 54.9 million offer shares in Ban Leong on May 27, with an aggregate of 30.32 million shares from Ronald Teng Woo Boon, managing director of Ban Leong and his wife Teo Su Ching, representing about 28.13% of the total number of issued shares in the capital of Ban Leong tendered in acceptance

Epicsoft Asia has declared its offer for Ban Leong Technologies&ldquo unconditional in all respects&rdquo , after acquiring about 50.90% of the total number of shares in the company on May 27.

 

Epicsoft Asia, a subsidiary of gaming giant GCL Global, first made the bid to take Ban Leong Technologies private for a consideration of 60.29 cents per share on April 30.

 

Epicsoft received valid acceptances of 54.9 million offer shares in Ban Leong on May 27, with an aggregate of 30.32 million shares from Ronald Teng Woo Boon, managing director of Ban Leong and his wife Teo Su Ching, representing about 28.13% of the total number of issued shares in the capital of Ban Leong tendered in acceptance.

 

Should Epicsoft acquire 90% or more than the total number of shares, either through valid acceptances or otherwise, it will be entitled to exercise its rights to compulsorily acquire all the shares from shareholders of Ban Leong who have not accepted the offer at a price equal to the offer price of 60.29 cents.

 

Epicsoft will then delist Ban Leong from the SGX-ST if the minimum free float requirement is not met.

 

Shareholders who wish to accept the offer must submit the relevance forms by the close of the offer on July 2.

Amara picks W Capital Markets to advise on offer from Hwa Hong-led consortium Ban Leong appoints Asian Corporate Advisors

 

[SINGAPORE] Hotel group Amara : A34 0% and technology products distributor Ban Leong Technologies : B26 +0.85% on Wednesday (May 7) separately announced that they have appointed independent financial advisers (IFAs) as they mull offers to be taken private.

 

Amara has appointed W Capital Markets as its IFA for a voluntary conditional general offer from a consortium led by property company Hwa Hong.

 

The offeror, a special-purpose vehicle called DRC Investments, launched the offer on Apr 28 at S$0.895 a share. The offer is final and values Amara at S$514.6 million.

 

DRC Investments intends to privatise the hotel group, citing low trading liquidity and challenging macroeconomic conditions. The vehicle includes a 35 per cent stake held by a fund sponsored by Hwa Hong, formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange, and Malaysia-based Newfields. It is also 30 per cent owned by Albertsons Capital, with shareholders Albert Teo, Amara&rsquo s chairman and chief executive, and his daughter Dawn Teo, Amara&rsquo s chief operating officer.

 

Real estate developer Wing Tai : W05 +1.71%&rsquo s wholly owned subsidiary, Winteam Investment, holds a 35 per cent stake in the consortium.

 

Meanwhile, Ban Leong has chosen Asian Corporate Advisors as its IFA as it considers a cash offer from video game distributor Epicsoft Asia, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed GCL Global.

  news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

 

The offer of S$0.6029 per share to Ban Leong&rsquo s shareholders comes as GCL Global &ldquo seeks to integrate Ban Leong&rsquo s distribution and vendor network with GCL Global&rsquo s digital capabilities and software portfolio&rdquo , the latter&rsquo s chief executive Sebastian Toke told The Business Times in a recent interview.

 

If Epicsoft Asia scoops up at least 90 per cent of Ban Leong shares at the close of the offer, it said that it will exercise its rights to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares from shareholders who have not accepted the offer.

 

These IFA will advise Amara and Ban Leong&rsquo s directors, who are considered independent, for their respective offers. The advisers&rsquo opinion and the directors&rsquo recommendation will be sent to each group&rsquo s shareholders within 14 days from the issue date of the offer document.

Epicsoft Asia, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed GCL Global, is splashing out cash to take Ban Leong private

 

[SINGAPORE] For over 30 years, one little-known wholesaler and distributor of technology products &ndash including IT accessories, gaming components and smart technology &ndash steadily built up its distribution network.

 

Even after Ban Leong Technologies listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in June 2005, it remained largely under the radar to both consumers and investors.

 

Now, it is making headlines as video game distributor Epicsoft Asia, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed GCL Global, is splashing out cash to take the company private.

 

&ldquo We see this as a platform for accelerating physical reach and product innovation in Asia&rsquo s fast-evolving consumer tech landscape,&rdquo he added.

 

The acquisition could also signal a trend where global software companies want control over physical touchpoints, especially in Asia.

 

&ldquo Software companies are increasingly seeking ways to influence the entire customer experience from digital interaction to physical product deployment,&rdquo Toke said.

 

&ldquo This is particularly relevant in Asia, where rapid urbanisation, strong mobile adoption, and consumer demand for smart devices are reshaping how technology is distributed and consumed.&rdquo

 

Epicsoft Asia last week made a cash offer of S$0.6029 per share to Ban Leong&rsquo s shareholders.

 

This represents a 60.8 per cent premium over Ban Leong&rsquo s last transacted share price of S$0.375 on Apr 29, the day before the offer was announced. It is also at a premium of 75.5 per cent to Ban Leong&rsquo s volume-weighted average price of S$0.3435 over the last 12 months.

 

The offer price also represents a premium of 42.4 per cent over the group&rsquo s net asset value per share of S$0.4233 as at Sep 30, 2024.

 

Epicsoft Asia has received irrevocable undertakings from Ban Leong&rsquo s managing director Ronald Teng and his wife Teo Su Ching to accept the offer. Together, the couple holds 28.13 per cent of the company.

 

If Epicsoft Asia scoops up at least 90 per cent of Ban Leong shares at the close of the offer, it said it will exercise its rights to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares from shareholders who have not accepted the offer.

 

Since the offer was made, shares of Ban Leong have jumped 57.3 per cent to close at S$0.59 on Monday (May 5).

 

Toke believes there is &ldquo untapped value&rdquo in Ban Leong&rsquo s brand partnerships, regional infrastructure and sales network that justifies the premium paid.

 

&ldquo Ban Leong&rsquo s assets hold strong strategic value that we believe has yet to be fully realised by the broader market,&rdquo he said.

 

For the latest first half-year to September 2024, Ban Leong reported earnings of S$1.4 million, down 36.2 per cent from S$2.2 million the previous year.

 

H1 revenue fell 4.8 per cent to S$97.5 million, from S$102.4 million previously.

 

&ldquo Beyond the numbers, Ban Leong has demonstrated strong adaptability to market shifts. It successfully expanded into e-commerce during the pandemic, attracted new brand partnerships, and grew its commercial segment,&rdquo Toke said.

 

&ldquo These are not typically reflected in the share price but point to operational depth and untapped growth potential,&rdquo he added.

 

Since its listing 20 years ago in 2005, shares of Ban Leong have climbed just 70.5 per cent to S$0.375, before the offer was made.

 

Long-time shareholders, though, might still rue its delisting.

 

The counter has generated a total return &ndash with dividends reinvested &ndash of 478.8 per cent over the same period. This works out to an annualised total return of 9.2 per cent.

 

Investors worldwide are clamouring for Nvidia, the chipmaker leading the charge in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Despite its shares skyrocketing by 92.23% to US$925.95 ($1,248) year-to-date, it is often overlooked that Nvidia owes much of its success to gamers.

 

For decades, gamers have driven demand for its cutting-edge graphics processing chips, essential for powering their visually stunning and function-intensive games.

 

Nvidia chips have also become highly coveted by Bitcoin miners, who find that the chips&rsquo graphics processing capabilities enable more efficient grinding and mining, aiding in their pursuit of crypto riches.

 

Ronald Teng, managing director of Ban Leong Technologies B26 0.00% , a local distributor of electronics and IT gadgets, is all too familiar with how this market behaves. To him, the constant upgrading cycle is an &ldquo evergreen&rdquo business.

 

Recently, Nvidia&rsquo s chips have been in the spotlight as AI technologies and applications have taken off, requiring copious amounts of computing power. &ldquo AI has really pushed the demand for these chips even higher,&rdquo says Teng in an inter- view with The Edge Singapore.

 

From a broader perspective, the AI craze is just one of many technology trends that have emerged and faded during Ban Leong&rsquo s three decades in business. The company began in 1993 by distributing multimedia speakers from Taiwan and CD-ROM computer games.

 

As Teng remembers, his father &mdash who was involved in home and car electronics at the time&mdash had a supplier from Taiwan offering multimedia speakers for personal computers but lacked the necessary distribution channels. The younger Teng seized this opportunity, marking his entry into the rapidly expanding industry of personal computers and related accessories. Subsequently, he expanded Ban Leong&rsquo s reach, venturing into markets in Malaysia and Thailand.

 

With the company becoming more high-profile as it grew, bankers began to interest Teng in taking it public. Although initially hesitant, he agreed to do so in 2005, utilising the money raised to expand Ban Leong further into Australia, New Zealand, and China and for its in-house product development.

 

However, Ban Leong&rsquo s journey has faced its fair share of hurdles, which is common in business. In addition to distributing other brands&rsquo products with slim margins, Teng also created his own products. While some of these in-house products performed admirably, others, like the portable phone charger or power bank, failed to gain traction, especially given their novelty in the early 2000s.

 

&ldquo We reckoned that people would be using their mobile phones a lot and everyone had to bring a spare battery around,&rdquo Teng recalls.

 

When manufacturers launched new models in quick succession, new types of batteries were required, leading Ban Leong to look at power banks as a sensible product to introduce to the market, due to its ability to charge different phone models.

 

Unfortunately, says Teng, consumers were accustomed to carrying spare batteries back then, leading Ban Leong to discontinue the product.

 

The timing was particularly unfortunate, as this decision came just before the launch of the iPhone in 2007. With the advent of power-hungry smartphones, the demand for power banks surged rapidly, making them an almost indispensable accessory. &ldquo We had the right product at the wrong time.&rdquo

 

What&rsquo s trending next?

 

Since then, Ban Leong has stayed true to its core distribution business, expanding by diversifying its portfolio and adding more brands. Among the approximately 50 brands it now represents are leading names such as Asus from Taiwan, Dell from the US, Huawei from China, Gigabyte, renowned for its motherboards, as well as industry giants like LG and Samsung from Korea, and Suunto, the Finnish smartwatch maker.

 

Besides its key product segments of IT accessories, gaming-related components and multimedia gadgets, smart Internet of Things (IoT) technology products for Wi-Fi and smart home systems have also grown in popularity over the years, to which Teng attributes to the growing application of technology over previously un-digitised products.

 

He says: &ldquo The key thing is that innovation attracts people, and we always pay attention to products that can deliver advanced services to people. When we first onboarded smart vacuum cleaners, people asked us if we were going into a new segment of consumer electronics, and the answer then was no. But when we examined the functions and intelligence of the product class, we knew it was something we could get behind. So we started the early generation of smart vacuum cleaners in Singapore, and it&rsquo snow a staple in many homes.&rdquo

 

While the consumer segment takes up around 50% of Ban Leong&rsquo s business, 40% is occupied by its commercial segment, where key products include large-screen televisions and displays for hotels, meeting rooms and event spaces as well as video-conference equipment and network products.

 

According to Teng, the commercial segment&rsquo s growth was driven by the pandemic, when work-from-home arrangements became a daily norm across most industries. For the FY2023 ended March 31, 2023, the commercial segment generated revenue of $63.1 million, or 31% of total sales.

 

Teng points out that while commercial deals do add up with their bigger quantum versus consumer sales, there are opportunities and challenges for each segment. &ldquo As long as the product is good and convincing enough to serve a purpose, consumers will purchase. But in terms of business-to-business sales, you have to go through process testing, reliability testing, internal specification &mdash all these things. What&rsquo s more is that neither [segment] are especially more margin-friendly, it really depends on the additional services we provide.&rdquo

 

Another avenue born out of the Covid-19 pandemic is Ban Leong&rsquo s e-commerce segment, where the company helps fulfil online orders. For FY2023, this segment generated revenue of $16.1 million, or around 8% of the company&rsquo s total.

 

&ldquo During the lockdown, we turned to e-commerce to help our vendors to continue to reach out to end-users by operating their brand stores. At the same time, we also attracted many new potential vendors who wanted to solely sell online. So, naturally we became their logistics and fulfillment partner, and we helped to build up their market share as a distribution platform,&rdquo adds Teng.

 

Although he wants to grow the business&rsquo s e-commerce segment thanks to its cross-border potential and ability to tap onto vendors who were previously limited by retail constraints, Teng points out there are downsides to online channels, and they will not completely supplant physical retail. &ldquo [Consumers] can&rsquo t really test the product. So we definitely have observed some impulse purchases by consumers, where after receiving the product, they don&rsquo t like it and then return it. In terms of that process, it does take up quite a lot of logistic costs as well.&rdquo

 

Normalisation and trails

 

Ban Leong&rsquo s earnings for FY2022 ended March 31, 2022, enjoyed a lift of 29% y-o-y to $9.4 million, on the back of a 23.5% increase in revenue to $225.6 million. The better showing was attributed to a spike in the sales of communication and entertainment products amid the pandemic lockdowns.

 

In the following FY2023 ended March 31, 2023, revenue dipped by 9.7% y-o-y to $203.7 million while earnings dropped 35.4% y-o-y to $6.1 million, which Teng attributes to the &ldquo opening [of the market following the pandemic]&rdquo .

 

In the most recent 1HFY2024 ended Sept 30, revenue increased by again by 2.1% y-o-y to $102.4 million, but earnings dropped 8.1% y-o-y to $2.17 million as the company&rsquo s margins were worn down somewhat no thanks to the stronger US dollar, which is how Ban Leong pays for its goods, versus Singdollar, the reporting currency. In line with the lower earnings, the company has trimmed its interim dividend for 1HFY204 to 0.6 cents from 0.75 cents paid in 1HFY2023.

 

Ban Leong&rsquo s share price has largely stayed at the same levels year to date, closing at 34 cents on April 3, valuing the company at $39.6 million. Its NAV, as at Sept 30, 2023, was 37.83 cents per share.

 

Since the 1HFY2024 results, there has been a series of share transactions by the insiders.

 

For one, the company has been regularly buying back its own shares, including most recently on April 3, when it paid 34 cents each for 488,900 shares. Earlier, on March 22 and March 25, it bought 398,000 shares and 400,000 shares respectively, also at 34 cents each. This brings the total bought back under the current mandate to around 3.2 million shares, equivalent to 2.853% of the company.

 

On Dec 1, Teng himself added to his stake by buying 10,400 shares from the open market at 36.5 cents, bringing his total interest to 30.32 million shares, or 27.25% of the company. On the other hand, a substantial share-holder, Wang Wei, on Feb 2 sold two million shares at 35 cents each via a married deal to an unnamed buyer, leaving Wang with a stake of 20.78 million shares, or 18.88%, down from 20.69%. Back in 2014, Wang paid Teng 43 cents each for 23.8 million shares. Another individual, Lee Eng Khian emerged as a substantial shareholder in the middle of last year when he bought 200,000 shares at 39 cents each, giving him a total stake of 5.66 million shares, or 5.05%.

 

Meanwhile, Teng prioritises a long-term outlook as he guides the company through the continually evolving technology landscape, a strategy he has employed for the past three decades, while navigating challenges such as cash flow. Ultimately, as reflected in the company&rsquo s Chinese name, Teng aims for Ban Leong to be an enduring business that will thrive indefinitely.

Between May 29 and 30, Ban Leong Technologies : B26 0% managing director Ronald Teng Woo Boon increased his deemed interest by 120,000 shares at an average price of S$0.366 per share.

 

With a consideration of S$43,950, the acquisitions by Teng&rsquo s spouse, Teo Su Ching, saw him increase his total interest in the distributor of technology products from 26.96 per cent to 27.06 per cent.

 

Headquartered in Singapore, Ban Leong Technologies distributes a diverse range of IT accessories, multimedia, and data storage products in both commercial and consumer segments. Teng is the founder of the group.

On Dec 6, Ban Leong Technologies : B26 0% founder and managing director Ronald Teng Woo Boon acquired 20,000 shares at 34.5 cents per share.

 

With a consideration of S$6,900, this increased his total interest in the distributor of technology products from 26.73 per cent to 26.75 per cent.

 

Headquartered in Singapore, Ban Leong Technologies distributes a diverse range of IT accessories, multimedia, and data storage products in both commercial and consumer segments.

BAN Leong Technologies posted a 64.9 per cent rise in net profit to S$3.9 million for the half year ended Sep 30, 2021, from S$2.3 million a year ago.

 

This was mainly due to a 29.8 per cent increase in revenue to S$51.5 million from its information technology (IT) accessories segment, while the multimedia segment and storage segments grew 19.2 per cent and 177.6 per cent to S$56.0 million and S$1.3 million respectively.

 

The tech distributor' s gross profit increased by 40.9 per cent to S$11.1 million and attributed this to consumers' willingness to pay more for better quality products to be more productive or have a better experience both at work and at home.

 

Earnings per share stood at 3.39 Singapore cents for the half-year, up from 2.05 Singapore cents a year ago.

 

Revenue for the half-year rose by 24.9 per cent to S$108.8 million, from S$87.1 million from the previous year.

 

An interim dividend of S$0.0125 was declared for the half-year, which will be paid to shareholders on Dec 10 after books closure on Nov 29, 5pm. No dividend was declared in the same period last year.

 

In the coming months, Ban Leong expects changes caused by the pandemic to the working environment and overall business activities to drive demand for IT and consumer electronics products.

 

" With more countries currently taking a different approach in dealing with the pandemic, there may be changes in consumer spending behaviour. As such, while we have generated positive growth, we will continue to adopt a prudent approach in maintaining a good cash flow to support our business activities," the company said.

AS people spruce up their work-from-home stations with the latest gizmos and gadgets, mainboard-listed Ban Leong Technologies had inadvertently become a pandemic beneficiary.

 

The group, which distributes multimedia products, data storage devices and information technology (IT) accessories, was founded by managing director Ronald Teng when he was fresh out of university in 1993. He first started out promoting speakers to IT shops at Sim Lim Square.

 

But Mr Teng was slightly ahead of his time back then - consumers weren' t quite ready to invest in speakers, given that personal computers were mostly used for work and did not require any audio function.

 

The opportune moment came when Creative Technologies launched their Sound Blaster sound cards - optional plug-in circuit cards for PCs for high-quality stereo - which helped generate a demand for speakers.

 

With Mr Teng' s persistence, sales of speakers began to pick up. With its new found success, Ban Leong was able to bring a wider range of products on board.

 

Today, Ban Leong is a distributor of over 50 brands in Singapore and the region. Some of the brands it carries include LG and Samsung. It has over 1,000 customers ranging from retailers located at malls to electronics chain stores. It also distributes to corporate resellers and system integrators.

 

Mr Teng attributes much of Ban Leong' s success to its ability to keep up with consumer trends and bring the latest products to customers.

 

It' s a norm for people to change up their electronics whenever there' s a new launch, said Mr Teng.

 

Avid gamers, for instance, will seek out the latest performance systems to get the best out of their gaming experience.

 

Better features will incentivise users to invest in the latest products, he said, adding that Ban Leong will continue to benefit from such consumer behaviour.

 

While many industries are still reeling from the impact of the pandemic, there was a silver lining for Ban Leong.

 

Consumer demand for LCD monitors, notebooks and gaming accessories spiked when the pandemic hit early last year.

 

For the full-year ended March 31, Ban Leong reported a net profit of S$7.2 million, 2.6 times higher than S$2.8 million the previous year. Revenue rose 21.6 per cent year on year to S$182.7 million, boosted by improvements in revenue for the accessories and storage segments.

 

Following its results announcement on May 24, shares of Ban Leong rallied and touched a historical high of 39.5 Singapore cents on June 2. As at June 28, its shares were up 55.1 per cent year-to-date to S$0.38.

 

When people began working from homes, LCD monitors were the first to fly off the shelves with many looking to replace their smaller screens, said Mr Teng.

 

This was followed by consumers upgrading other gadgets such as notebooks to those with better resolutions.

 

By around May to June - when travel had become a distant reality - sales of gaming accessories picked up as more people turned to online video games for entertainment amid stay-home measures.

 

Razer' s gaming hardware, for instance, were among the most sought-after products, according to Mr Teng.

 

Meanwhile, executives who work from home found that they needed higher-end systems to hold video conferences with their counterparts from other parts of the world, said Mr Teng.

 

As such, Logitech' s webcams, which come with a wide range of prices to cater to different segments, also saw brisk sales.

 

" Logitech is also well-versed in gaming (equipment) and headsets so they also benefited from this wave," said Mr Teng.

 

With demand for consumer electronics expected to remain robust, Mr Teng is now looking to strengthen the group' s presence in the commercial space with the aim of becoming a " hybrid distributor" that serves both markets.

 

Sales from the commercial segment had dipped as a result of the pandemic. Such products range from large-format displays found on buildings or television systems used in hotels.

 

" The market will recover, so it is a good time for us to prepare," he said.

 

Efforts include expanding its product portfolio as well as hiring the right people to bring the company forward.

 

Ban Leong is also currently looking to expand its regional presence through e-commerce, which currently accounts for about 10 per cent of the group' s revenue.

 

However, for e-commerce, the focus will be for brands that have yet to gain much recognition in physical stores, said Mr Teng.

 

About three years ago, Ban Leong tried to take a robotic vacuum cleaner brand to retailers but it was not well-received.

 

The group then worked closely with the supplier to market and sell the product online. Once it made a name for itself in the online space, retailers began to express interest to stock the brand in stores.

 

" We are trying to use this route as a way to challenge ourselves, to build up the (brand) awareness in order to create the demand," he said.

 

Regional expansion therefore does not necessarily mean the group has to set up distribution centres elsewhere. Instead, it can work on cross-border marketing to drive demand and collaborate with logistics partners to distribute the products, said Mr Teng.

 

With consumer electronics currently driving the group' s revenue, the global chip shortage is something Ban Leong is keeping an eye on.

 

That said, with Singapore being a smaller market compared with countries like Europe or the United States, it meant that the group has still been able to secure sufficient slots for its shipments, according to Mr Teng.

 

" The only challenge now is having to ' queue up' for vessels to reach the region," he said.

 

Ban Leong now has to forecast the quantity of stocks it requires and place orders about three months in advance. This compares with ordering just a month ahead during pre-pandemic times.

 

" You really need to stay close to the ground to really assess the demand. Every week the team will need to get feedback from retailers and monitor the stock movement," he said.

Ban Leong Technologies has reported earnings of $7.2 million for the FY2020/2021 ended March, 160.5% &ndash or 2.6 times &ndash higher than earnings of $2.8 million in the year before.

 

The higher earnings were attributable to higher revenue, gross profit, as well as other operating income during the year.

Earnings per share (EPS) stood at 6.17 cents on a fully diluted basis, compared to the 2.51 cents in the FY2019/2020.

 

Revenue for the FY2021 increased by 21.6% y-o-y to $182.7 million on the back of improvements in revenues for the accessories and storage segments, which saw revenues of $31.3 million and $1.2 million respectively.

For the FY2020/2021, Ban Leong&rsquo s multimedia segment remained &ldquo relatively stable&rdquo at $95.7 million.

 

The increase in revenue for accessories was due to stronger demand for video collaboration tools on the back of the rising work-from-home (WFH) and home-based learning (HBL) trends.

 

Demand for gaming accessories also saw growth due to the popularity of online video games during the pandemic.

The higher revenue for storage was due to a full-year impact of a new product that was distributed at the end of FY2020.

 

Gross profits increased by 34.1% y-o-y to $20.0 million mainly due to the higher revenue, as well as the depreciation of the US dollar against the regional currencies.

Other operating income surged 165.7% y-o-y to $1.8 million due to more Covid-19 related grants from the Singapore government.

 

A higher provision for taxation expenses was made in FY2020/2021 as profit before tax increased 139.8% y-o-y to almost $8.7 million.

The company has recommended a final one-tier dividend of 2.5 cents per share for the FY2020/2021, higher than the final dividend of 1.25 cents paid per share in the FY2019/2020.

The dividend will be paid on August 16.

As at end-March, cash and cash equivalents stood at $20.7 million.

 

On March 31, Ban Leong Technologies managing director Ronald Teng Woo Boon acquired 70,000 shares of the company for a consideration of S$17,850 at 25.5 cents per share.

 

This took his total interest in the technology products distributor from 26.27 per cent to 26.33 per cent.

 

Mr Teng' s preceding acquisition was on March 5, with 200,000 shares acquired at 25.0 cents per share.

 

He has gradually increased his total interest in the company from 25.73 per cent at the end of 2020.

 

He is the founder of the group and plays an important role in managing the overall business operations.

 

On March 5, Ban Leong Technologies managing director Ronald Teng Woo Boon acquired 200,000 shares of the company for a consideration of S$50,000 at 25.0 cents per share.

 

This took his total interest in Ban Leong Technologies from 26.10 per cent to 26.27 per cent.

 

He has gradually increased his total interest in the company from 25.73 per cent at the end of 2020.

 

Mr Teng is the founder of the group and plays an important role in managing the overall business operations.

 

Mr Teng' s responsibilities include formulating and executing the group' s business strategies and policies as well as charting the growth of the group while spearheading the sales and marketing function of the company.

 

On Sept 22, Ban Leong Technologies managing director Ronald Teng Woo Boon acquired 29,000 shares of the listed company for a consideration of S$6,380 at 22 cents per share.

 

This took his total interest in Ban Leong Technologies from 25.71 per cent to 25.73 per cent.

 

Mr Teng is the founder of the group and plays an important role in managing the overall business operations.

 

His responsibilities include formulating and executing the group' s business strategies and policies as well as charting the growth of the group.

 

He also spearheads the sales and marketing function of the group.