More good news !
ECOWISE HOLDS FIRST STAKEHOLDERS MEETING TO MOVE TOWARDS CARBON CREDIT
http://info.sgx.com/webcorannc.nsf/ef3ba6cb188613ea482571b2003641d3/f368b15811f37aaf4825730f0034b13a?OpenDocument
Ecowise going into carbon credits ....
Still don't know what is carbon credits ? well, time to read up...
Remember, value investing is about investing in the next "Microsoft" before PC became common or investing in Yongnam before the construction boom. It's not so much about NTA, EPS etc etc, because if the company is
GROWING, these numbers will fall in place soon.
So take a look around us...what is happening now ? Do you feel hot and unusually warm everyday when you are out ? Well, global warming is a real thing....
In fact, I just saw the news on china's govt enforcing rules on the temp of air con in buildings and soon, our govt might implement more environmental friendly legislations too.
Hop on and hold on tight.
Current Price still have lots of room. Its a Strong BUY. Note: I am vested at various level from 50 cents. Holding on tight.
Sigh..... Me sold it off @ 0.31... Heart still pain.... dT_Tb
Published June 19, 2007 (BusinessTimes)
Wisely banking on eco-friendliness Environmental solutions company ecoWise Holdings is set to ride the green wave towards continued profitability, reports JANICE HENG Email this article Print article Feedback INDONESIA'S ban on sand exports may be a bane for construction companies, but it is proving a boon for homegrown environmental solutions company ecoWise Holdings Ltd. Used copper slag - the end product of ecoWise's core copper slag recycling business - is in demand as a sand substitute in eco-concrete production. A provider of integrated environmental solutions, ecoWise expects to ride the green wave towards continued profitability. Renewable energy is the company's next growth area, chairman and CEO Lee Thiam Seng told BT.
Mr Lee: Sees renewable energy as the company's next growth area, while expecting copper slag recycling to remain ecoWise's core business for the next two years The Sesdaq-listed company began in 1979 as a collector and recycler of copper slag, founded by current executive director Sunny Ong. Copper slag recycling remains a key business - partly because of Singapore's construction boom and the shortage of sand for concrete production.
In Singapore, copper slag is mainly used as an abrasive in shipyards. ecoWise recycles used copper slag, selling about a fifth back to the shipyards for reuse, and the rest to the construction industry. Much of the slag is used in ready-mix concrete, and Mr Lee expects this to grow. ecoWise is working with 'a major cement supplier' to use most, if not all, of its recycled copper slag in eco-concrete.
In eco-concrete, washed copper slag replaces up to 70 per cent of the sand used in production. For now, eco-concrete can make up only 10 per cent of structural components, but guidelines may soon be changed to encourage greater use. It is also widely used in concrete products such as pavements, kerbs and drains.
For the next two years, Mr Lee expects copper slag recycling to remain the core business. It is part of ecoWise's industrial waste recovery segment, which may widen in scope - for example, to include waste concrete. Said Mr Lee: 'We are constantly upgrading our skill and know-how, so I think that is also another area which may possibly give us good income.'
ecoWise also plans to grow its renewable energy business. In 2005, the company started a co-generation plant fuelled by biomass - chiefly wood and horticultural waste. Every hour, the plant generates 15,000 kg of steam and one megawatt of electricity from five tonnes of biomass. Segment revenue comes mainly from biomass collection for the National Parks Board. But this may change as ecoWise seeks revenue from the energy generated.
The plant powers ecoWise's operations, reducing costs and fossil fuel use. But this uses less than 20 per cent of the energy generated - a clear instance of under-utilisation. So in the past few months, ecoWise has used steam and waste heat from the plant to provide ISO tank heating services. ISO tanks are usually heated by diesel boilers. Thus, ecoWise's services are cheaper and eco-friendly to boot.
'We are going to grow (this segment) very fast,' said Mr Lee. ecoWise will move its industrial waste operations to new premises, leaving room on the company's current site to heat '10, 20, or even 50 ISO tanks' at a time. eco Wise can then run the heating business on a larger scale, and provide ISO tank repair services on the side. Other plans include the use of steam and heat to dry organic waste, which has high disposal costs and is hence lucrative to collect. Having developed its own fuel blend and gained experience in running a co-generation plant, ecoWise hopes to take the renewable energy business to a new level. 'With this know-how, I think we are in a position to talk about EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects,' said Mr Lee. ecoWise may also sell solid biomass fuel tablets to companies with their own co-generation plants.
And following Singapore's accession to the Kyoto Protocol last year, ecoWise has retroactively applied for carbon credits for its co-generation plant, hoping to trade these credits on the international market.
Going forward, ecoWise will focus on its industrial waste and renewable energy segments. But Mr Lee added: 'Definitely, we will try to diversify.'
One diversification attempt did not go smoothly. In June 2006, ecoWise acquired industrial waste water solutions provider WaterTech Pte Ltd, in its first foray into liquid waste treatment. But WaterTech was disposed of last December, after disagreements between both companies. Water treatment now comes under subsidiary ecoWise Solutions, which handles small projects. Despite that setback, ecoWise is still looking for merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities.
Executive director Teoh Teik Kee said: 'ecoWise is an environmental solutions provider, so we do not see ourselves restricted to solid waste or industrial waste.' He added ecoWise will bank on organic growth for the industrial materials recovery and renewable energy segments, but rely on M&A activity for its other segments - organic waste recycling and provision of environmental solutions - and new businesses.
Singapore's eco-business sector is 'very congested', said Mr Lee, so it is hard to break into new areas. This is not about to change. 'I think more and more players will come in - that's for sure,' he added. But ecoWise is not too concerned about competition. 'I think we are quite niche, in terms of copper slag,' said Mr Lee. Singapore's shipyards use some 400,000 tonnes of copper slag a year, and Mr Lee says that ecoWise is the main collector, handling more than three-quarters of the total volume.
Growth of the eco-industry also opens new opportunities. Said Mr Lee: 'I think there are still a lot of things that can be done in Singapore.' More companies are aware of environmental issues, he added, and regulations are increasingly stringent.
Regulatory changes have already worked to ecoWise's benefit. The copper slag business 'really picked up' in 2005 and 2006, due partly to the healthy shipbuilding industry, but also because the National Environment Agency was pressuring shipyards to ensure the proper disposal of used copper slag. Two of Singapore's four licensed copper slag collectors are part of ecoWise.
The improved business helped ecoWise make a turnaround to profitability, after a few rough years since listing in 2003. For the year ended Oct 31, 2006, profit was $3.5 million, compared with a loss of $872,000 in 2005. Revenue was up 140.8 per cent to $18.8 million.
Last Thursday, ecoWise reported continued growth for the first half of 2007. For the six months ended April 30, 2007, net profit attributable to shareholders rose to $2.6 million, from $0.8 million previously. Revenue grew 84.9 per cent to $11.7 million, from $6.3 million in the H1 2006. Gross profit margin also grew to 53.2 per cent, from 44.9 per cent previously, due mainly to lower disposal costs.
With ecoWise's promising recovery, what else lies ahead? The company says it is 'constantly on the lookout for partners overseas'. As with expansion into new businesses, overseas growth will probably be via M&A activity. 'China is still our main target. We are very familiar with China,' said Mr Lee. Until then, the lack of local landfill space means that recycling and materials recovery will remain an important need here.
The stock closed two cents up at 58 cents yesterday, rising from 38 cents at the start of June.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/companies/story/0,4574,237943,00.html
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..cheong arrrrhhhhh
