ST Group Food Industries Lists Higher On Catalist Trading Debut

Newly-listed Singapore Exchange Catalist board member, ST Group Food Industries Holdings Limited (STFIH) reported strong interest for its initial public offering (IPO) –  comprising 30.77 million new placement shares priced at S$0.260 apiece – with gross proceeds amounting to S$7.80 million ($5.75 million).

On its trading debut, STFIH’s stock price rose by one cent above its IPO price at S$0.270. The intraday stock price range was S$0.270 and S$0.285. A total of approximately 12.59 million shares changed hand during the trading session.

The Australian-headquartered food and beverage group also noted that two cornerstone investors – Chikaranomoto Global Holdings Pte Ltd and Hyein Foods Co. Ltd – have each subscribed to 3.85 million and 3.08 million shares respectively.

Chikaranomoto Global is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Chikaranomoto Holdings Co. Ltd, and is the owner of the IPPUDO brand. Meanwhile, Hyein Foods Co. Ltd is a South Korean-based private firm that owns the NeNe Chicken brand.

Founded in 2011, ST Food Industries owns exclusive franchise and licence rights to six global F&B brands in  Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the UK. Some of its franchised F&B brands include PapaRich, NeNe Chicken, Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart, Gong Cha, IPPUDO, and iDarts.

STFIH has also developed two of its own brands, PAFU and KURIMU. As at May 31, 2019, STFIH had a network of 101 outlets comprising of 38 Group-owned and 63 owned and operated by its sub-franchisees.

Its key business segments include F&B retail, sub-franchising and sub-licensing of brands, sale of F&B ingredients and receipt of machine income from electronic darts machines installed at iDarts outlets.

For the financial year ending June 30, 2018 (FY 2018), STFIH’s consolidated total revenues stood at at A$36.50 million ($25.54 million), up 20.46 per cent year-over-year (YoY) from A$30.30 million ($21.20 million) in FY 2017. Total profits were at A$2.70 million ($1.89 million) in FY 2018, up 17.39 per cent YoY from A$2.30 million ($1.61 million) in FY 2017.

The sponsor, issue manager, and placement agent for the STFIH IPO issue is United Overseas Bank (UOB) Limited.