Morgan BellMultiplex: Building the Future
December 18th 2006 12:03
We all love property but who knows Multiplex? Multiplex Group has been around for 44 years building some of the most visible landmarks around. Have a refreshing look at this company now and you might end up investing in it.
The news today, 18 December 2006, is that “when billionaire builder John Roberts passed control of his Multiplex empire to the next generation in 2002, he declared that 36-year-old son Andrew Roberts was “far better than his father and far more qualified”.”
“The problematic $2 billion contract to build the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium in London was one of the last big deals John Roberts brought to the table at Multiplex. And while the old warhorse of the Australian construction industry never conceded as much, it was a deal his eldest son now admits weighed heavily on his father’s health before he died at the age of 72.”
“It also weighed heavily on the Multiplex share price, which tanked to below $3. With a recent out-of-court settlement with the Football Association on the Wembley contract helping to limit Multiplex’s exposure, the stock has since clawed back to above $4.”
This news was published in the online version of The Age under the title “Building on the Multiplex legend” and was written by Mark Drummond. Click here to open that page.
Multiplex Group (ASX: MSG) is an interesting company. It builds, develops, owns and manages property around the world being an Aussie company.
It listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2003 and since then has been plagued by the problems related to the building of the Wembley stadium in London.
MXG was accused of hiding information, not understanding the difference between a private company it was and a public it now is which must be transparent in its dealings. MXG ended up satisfying the market.
But meanwhile its share price fell from around $5.50 to below $3. It could have been a contrarian opportunity, because Multiplex does display a set of beautiful figures.
MXG’s earnings, 15.6 cents in 2004, are now 56.3 cents. Its current revenues are of $3.142 billion and its Net Profit is $216.8 million on a margin of 15 per cent. Return on Equity is 17.5 per cent being Shareholder’s Equity $2.703 billion.
MXG, though, has some debt: $1.724 billion which is 39 per cent of capital and something that would take 8 years to repay from its Net Profit. The interest bill is $157 million, which could be a problem considering the Cash Flow per share of -46.4 cents.
The current price for MXG is $4.03 being its P/E 7.2 times, apparently cheap.
The figures above are based on data available at money.ninemsn.com.au.
With regards to the future, Multiplex has a book full of orders so money should keep flowing in.
End
The news today, 18 December 2006, is that “when billionaire builder John Roberts passed control of his Multiplex empire to the next generation in 2002, he declared that 36-year-old son Andrew Roberts was “far better than his father and far more qualified”.”
“The problematic $2 billion contract to build the new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium in London was one of the last big deals John Roberts brought to the table at Multiplex. And while the old warhorse of the Australian construction industry never conceded as much, it was a deal his eldest son now admits weighed heavily on his father’s health before he died at the age of 72.”
“It also weighed heavily on the Multiplex share price, which tanked to below $3. With a recent out-of-court settlement with the Football Association on the Wembley contract helping to limit Multiplex’s exposure, the stock has since clawed back to above $4.”
This news was published in the online version of The Age under the title “Building on the Multiplex legend” and was written by Mark Drummond. Click here to open that page.
Multiplex Group (ASX: MSG) is an interesting company. It builds, develops, owns and manages property around the world being an Aussie company.
It listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2003 and since then has been plagued by the problems related to the building of the Wembley stadium in London.
MXG was accused of hiding information, not understanding the difference between a private company it was and a public it now is which must be transparent in its dealings. MXG ended up satisfying the market.
But meanwhile its share price fell from around $5.50 to below $3. It could have been a contrarian opportunity, because Multiplex does display a set of beautiful figures.
MXG’s earnings, 15.6 cents in 2004, are now 56.3 cents. Its current revenues are of $3.142 billion and its Net Profit is $216.8 million on a margin of 15 per cent. Return on Equity is 17.5 per cent being Shareholder’s Equity $2.703 billion.
MXG, though, has some debt: $1.724 billion which is 39 per cent of capital and something that would take 8 years to repay from its Net Profit. The interest bill is $157 million, which could be a problem considering the Cash Flow per share of -46.4 cents.
The current price for MXG is $4.03 being its P/E 7.2 times, apparently cheap.
The figures above are based on data available at money.ninemsn.com.au.
With regards to the future, Multiplex has a book full of orders so money should keep flowing in.
End
| 51 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
