THAT timber-based NWP Holdings Bhd has taken big steps since the beginning of 2022 to put what is seemingly a chaotic past behind seems to augur well for the company’s future prospects.
Boardroom tussle and discord among directors which led to legal action and court intervention can now be deemed a thing of the past with a more serious initiative geared towards cleaning up a rowdy past and over-hauling/re-aligning the company’s business.
As a turnaround beckons, NWP has surely caught the attention of investors – the most influential of whom is Sally Quah Seik Lee, the wife of Bryan Loo who is the founder and CEO of Loob Holding Sdn Bhd, the owner of lifestyle tea brand Tealive.
On June 8, Quah acquired 20 million shares in NWP which brought her stake in the company to 8.739% or 46 million shares. She further upped her shareholding on June 29 by acquiring a further 2 million NWP shares from the open market which lifted her stake to 9.118% or 48 million shares.
This would possibly make Quah the company’ second largest shareholder after non-independent and non-executive chairman Datuk Tan Lik Houe who holds a 9.14% stake in NWP. Tan was re-designated from non-independent and non-executive director with effect from yesterday (July 6).
It is still uncertain if the acquisition by Quah is related to her husband’s entrepreneurial endeavour but what is certain is private equity firm Creador struck a strategic partnership with Loob to enable the owner of Tealive accelerate the brand’s regional growth expansion.
In fact, Creador founder and CEO Brahmal Vasudevan reportedly said the firm chose Loob to be its first investment in the fast-growing food and beverage sector as Tealive had grown to be a regional company with over 650 stores in less than five years.
Recall that NWP’s largest shareholder Tan had issued a statement in early April stating that NWP has moved past legal tussles involving its board of directors with the dropping of legal suits following the reshuffling of its boardroom members.
On Feb 7, NWP and five of its directors were served with an originating summons (OS) filed by the company’s former managing director Datuk Seri Kee Soon Ling and ex-independent non-executive director (INED) Yew Onn Chong which among others, sought their relief from suspension as directors of the company and to be restrained from attending board meetings.
With the uncertainties and infighting within the group settled, NWP can now look forward to tap into the surge in demand for its timber manufacturing business amid the re-opening of international borders and economic recovery, according to Tan.
Interestingly, as Quah solidifies her presence in NWP, CEO Yap Shuh Jian, 60, stepped down from the company with effect from July 1 alongside executive director Lim Gek Shan, 46, and independent non-executive directors Ku Chong Hong, 34, and Datuk Mohd Ashri Muda, 62.
To replace them, NWP has – apart from re-designating Tan – appointed Tan Wye Chuan, 38, as executive director alongside accountant by qualification Lim Tock Ooi, 75, as independent non-executive director with effect from July 6.
For the record, Wye Chuan, a multimedia graduate from RMIT University Melbourne in Australia is also the son of Tan and brother to Tan Jyy Yeen (Tan’s daughter) who is also an executive director of NWP.
While NWP can now usher in a new beginning with the presence of new Quah and probably other potential investors, the company has to first circumvent the dark clouds cast over its future following an unqualified opinion with material uncertainty related to the company’s status as a going concern expressed by its external auditor HLB Ler Lum Chew PLT.
Issued on July 4, the material uncertainty with regard to its audited financial statements for the financial year ended Feb 28, 2022 is premised on:
- The group and company having incurred a net loss of RM17.35 mil and RM8.73 mil respectively during the said financial year end;
- The group and company having reported a net operating cash outflow of RM6.03 mil and RM3.7 mil respectively during the said financial year; and
- The group’s and company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by RM1.81 mil and RM705,590 respectively as of end-February 2022.
At the close of today’s mid-day trading, NWP was unchanged at 27 sen with 8.47 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM142 mil. – July 7, 2022
Main photo credit: The Edge Markets
