Investor Relations
UPHOLDING GOOD INVESTOR RELATIONS
Worldwide and in Singapore, there is an increasing call for listed companies to show greater transparency and better corporate governance in their business activities. Thus, investors are looking for distinct and precise disclosures. In response to this demand, the Group seeks to provide its stakeholders with timely and reliable information on its business and financial performance.
We are committed to ensuring that our investors have the essential information and are kept well-informed of our strategic directions, business operations and market situation to assist them in making informed investment decisions.
To achieve this goal, OKP engages proactively and virtually, if need be, with our investors through various contact points. Our senior management and investor relations (IR) team make themselves available via various communication avenues to the investment and financial community, and the media.
Our guiding principle in relation to our shareholders is our commitment to maximising their return on investment while maintaining top-quality products and services. We are resolute in developing and growing long-term value for all our investors and stakeholders. We seek to build a steadfast and sustainable company by embracing a wide range of capabilities and increasing our skills, experience and knowledge so as to fulfil our vision to be a leading transport infrastructure and civil engineering company in Singapore and overseas. Through this way, we can achieve good business progress and deliver solid results to meet the expectations of our shareholders and investors.
To uphold our leadership position in the competitive environment, we actively monitor the external business and macroeconomic situation affecting our business and tackle issues strategically. We keep abreast of the best practices by establishing good management practices and efficient operational processes. We emphasise to all our employees the importance of delivering top-notch quality services, which exceed customers' expectations.
The Group continually aims to improve our IR practices for our stakeholders' benefit. We are a member of the Investor Relations Professionals Association (Singapore) for 2023. The association's primary goals include championing IR best practice, enhancing professional competencies and elevating the overall standard of the IR profession in Singapore.
IMPLEMENTING EFFICIENT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
As a listed company, OKP is dedicated to ensuring excellent corporate governance, whereby it manages, directs and balances the interests of all its stakeholders, which include customers, workers, suppliers, business partners, investors and the public. We fully believe that sound corporate governance is important in attracting and retaining investors' confidence and backing as well as gaining fresh investors.
Our organisation is of the view that excellent corporate governance is a fundamental pillar of our long-term strategy to deliver sustainable business success and superior value. As we remain agile and adapt to market changes, we will continue to endorse the best corporate practices and principles in the way we operate, and stay committed in establishing trust with all stakeholders.
We fully back the pledge towards board diversity, which was introduced for listed companies by the Singapore Institute of Directors and Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 2015. The pledge states:
"We, as corporations, are committed to promoting diversity as a key attribute of a well-functioning and effective board. We believe that a diverse board will enhance decision making by harnessing the variety of skills, industry and business experiences, gender, age, ethnicity and culture, geographical background and nationalities, tenure of service, and other distinguishing qualities of the members of the board."
Within the Group, we have instituted processes to improve our corporate governance framework to deliver greater transparency and fast-track management decision-making procedures, as well as strengthen management oversight. One of the ways we do this is by adopting the criteria used to score the Singapore Governance and Transparency Index (SGTI) administered by CPA Australia, National University of Singapore Business School's Centre for Governance and Sustainability and the Singapore Institute of Directors.
Since 2017, the SGTI is a unified framework comprising two separate categories – the General Category, and the REIT and Business Trust Category. For the General Category, the SGTI score has two components – base score and adjustment for bonuses and penalties. The base score for companies contains five pillars (BREAD) – board responsibilities (35 points), rights of shareholders (20 points), engagement of stakeholders (10 points), accountability and audit (10 points), and disclosure and transparency (25 points). All these add up to a base score of 100 points. The aggregate of bonuses and penalties is incorporated to the base score to arrive at the company's SGTI total score. The SGTI 2023 covered 474 Singapore-listed companies in the general category and 43 Reits and business trusts. based on their annual reports for financial year 2022 released by 31 May 2023.
A Business Times online report on 3 August 2023 ranked OKP 88 in SGTI 2023's General Category with an overall score of 85 (including 13 bonus points). In comparison, it was ranked 185 in the SGTI 2022 with an overall score of 73.
At OKP, our approach is to proactively engage the investment community by providing the latest information on corporate developments to assist investors and other stakeholders in making well-informed investment decisions. We believe that this transparency contributes greatly towards an excellent understanding of the Group and its activities, as well as enable the investing community to evaluate our performance.
As a responsible company committed to good corporate governance, we fully support the Corporate Governance Week 2023, which is organised annually by the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS). Its focus on building and implementing excellence in corporate governance echoes the way the company manages its business and how it communicates with its shareholders. Our representatives took part in the SIAS Corporate Governance Week Conference with the theme Building Trust through Effective Corporate Governance: Navigating Legal, Ethical and Social Challenges, which was held from 6 -10 November 2023. In 2022, our representative also attended the SID Directors Conference 2022 - Directors in a 4D World – Digital, Decentralised, Decarbonised, Diverse on 15 September 2022. All directors also attended Environmental, Social and Governance Essentials (Core) training conducted by the Singapore Institute of Directors in 2022.
In addition, our representatives took part in the SID Directors Virtual Conference 2021 – Asia's Renaissance The New Era of Recovery and Reopening on 8–9 September 2021 and the Construction and Facilities Management Prospects Dialogue 2021, which was organised by the Building and Construction Authority and held on 25 March 2021.
Investor Relations Policy
The Group has a distinct IR policy, which is to ensure objective, transparent and principled business dealings with all its stakeholders. We prioritise releasing relevant and material information according to these basic principles and in accordance with the SGX's rules. We provide shareholders and other parties in the financial markets concurrently with the same information about matters that may affect our share price movement. The organisation has won numerous awards and accolades over the decades, which testify to its IR efforts and commitment to excellent corporate governance. These accolades include the following:
- Runner‐up in the Most Transparent Company Award in the Construction and Materials and Mainboard Small Caps categories at the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) 16th Investors' Choice Awards 2015;
- Best Investor Relations Award (Gold) in the "Companies with less than $300 million market capitalisation" category at Singapore Corporate Awards(SCA) 2015;
- Merit for the Singapore Corporate Governance Award under Mainboard Small Caps category; and runner-up for the Most Transparent Company Award in the Constructions and Materials category at SIAS 15th Investors' Choice Awards 2014;
- Best Investor Relations Awards (Bronze) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at SCA 2013;
- Winner of the Most Transparent Company Award under Mainboard Small Caps category at SIAS 14th Investors' Choice Awards 2013;
- Winner of the Most Transparent Company Award under Mainboard Small Caps category at SIAS 13th Investors' Choice Awards 2012;
- Best Investor Relations Awards (Bronze) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at SCA 2012;
- Best Investor Relations Award (Gold) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at SCA 2009; and
- Best Investor Relations Award (Silver) in the Small Market Capitalisation category at SCA 2008.
Dividend Policy
The Group does not have a formal dividend policy. The form, frequency and amount of dividend payable on our shares will depend on several factors. These include OKP's financial position, results of operations, capital needs, expansion plans, and what the Board of Directors deems appropriate.
To reward shareholders for their continual support, OKP had paid a special interim dividend of $0.005 per share on 27 September 2023. In addition, the Board has proposed a final dividend of $0.007 per share and a special dividend of $0.008 per share. This works out to total dividends of $0.02 per share for FY2023. The Group has a dividend payout of 13.8 per cent in 2023.
ENGAGING ACTIVELY WITH SHAREHOLDERS
In today's unpredictable investment environment with demand for better corporate governance, we are totally cognisant of the importance of engaging and communicating effectively with all our stakeholders. We seek to foster regular two-way investor communication by utilising various touchpoints with existing and potential investors, financial analysts and the media. These channels include group briefings to analysts, media and investors; one-to-one meetings with shareholders and potential investors; annual general meetings; annual and sustainability reports; and corporate announcements and online communication via the investor relations section of our corporate website.
More details of our activities are as follows:
Annual General Meeting
The annual general meeting (AGM), which is held every April, is a key channel for the Group to interact with investors. Besides providing an opportunity for investors to raise any issue, the AGM also enables the Board of Directors and senior management team to brief shareholders on the company's latest developments. The AGM also offers an opportunity for shareholders to raise questions and vote on the resolutions being tabled. All Directors, especially the Chairpersons of the Audit, Nominating and Remuneration Committees, are present to answer questions from shareholders relating to the past, current and future directions of OKP's business, explain decisions made and address all concerns raised.
Announcements Of Corporate Developments
As an organisation which aims for clear, transparent and factual disclosure to assist investors in making informed decisions on investments, we prioritise sending out timely announcements on new contracts, strategic developments, financial results and other noteworthy information. To ensure fair and immediate dissemination of information, we post our announcements through the SGXNet website, press releases, email alerts and our investor-friendly website.
Our investor relations website is a key avenue through which we broadcast our news to the investment community. It is a resource for corporate, financial and stock information, and announcements of important business developments. The website also houses our half-yearly results and annual and sustainability reports. Since 2003, our organisation has featured webcasts comprising videos of fullyear results, messages and presentation slides, thus enabling those who could not be physically present at AGMs to be kept well-informed of our latest financial and operational performance. All our announcements are posted quickly on our website, following its release to the SGX. Through this approach, all shareholders and investors are kept abreast of our latest business developments at the same time and effectively.
Analyst And Media Briefings
During the release of our financial results, the senior management team is available to meet with analysts to answer their questions and address any concern. Outside of the financial results announcement periods, where necessary and relevant, the senior management team will also meet analysts and fund managers, to enable them to have greater insights into the Group's operations.
Where appropriate and when opportunities arise, we also participate in media interviews to provide shareholders and the public with a better understanding of our business and management's direction.
News about OKP have been published in various newspapers, journals, magazines and broadcast media. These included The Business Times, Lianhe Zaobao, The Straits Times, The Edge Singapore, Singapore Business Review, Today Online, Shares Investment, Biz Daily Online, Reuters, Channel NewsAsia, High Net Worth, BT Invest, i3investor.com and Inside Invest Magazine. Our Executive Director Daniel Or was interviewed by a reporter from Channel NewsAsia on 19 September 2023 on the earth control measures system in conjunction with a Land Transport Authority safety awards event.
ANNUAL AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS
Since FY2022, the Group has published two separate reports – an annual report and a sustainability report. This will enable investors and other stakeholders to have a more comprehensive view of OKP's business, financial and sustainability performances. Our annual and sustainability reports are a vital communication conduit for stakeholders and other interested parties. Thus, we put in a lot of effort to ensure that the reports provide an accurate and good overview of our activities during the year as well as our developments, policies and strategic direction in the future. The annual report, sustainability report and the notice of AGM are uploaded on SGXNet and the company's website at least 14 days before the meeting.
Our efforts have paid off and our annual reports have won numerous awards which include:
- Best Annual Report Award (Gold) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at Singapore Corporate Awards (SCA) 2016;
- Best Annual Report Award (Gold) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at SCA 2013;
- Best Annual Report Award (Gold) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at SCA 2010;
- Best Annual Report Award (Silver) in the "Companies with less than $300 million in market capitalisation" category at SCA 2009;
- Best Annual Report Award (Gold) for SESDAQ company at the Inaugural SCA 2006 for excellent standards of corporate disclosure; and
- Second runner-up at 30th Annual Report Awards 2004 in the SESDAQ-listed companies category organised by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore, Investment Management Association of Singapore, Securities Investors Association (Singapore), Singapore Institute of Management, Singapore Institute of Directors, Singapore Exchange Limited and The Business Times.
Communicating Online
Technology is a pivotal and invaluable tool today to communicate with all our stakeholders. Therefore, we make full use of technology by conducting an annual webcast to communicate with our investors and taking questions online via an Online Management Question-and-Answer forum with investors through Shareinvestor.com.
Communicating online played an important role during the Covid-19 pandemic when there were restrictions on people movement. During the pandemic, OKP leveraged on digital channels such as live webcasts and virtual conferencing to reach out to the investment community more effectively. Through these platforms, all shareholders and other interested parties will be able to provide their feedback and queries to our management and be confident of an appropriate response. We also update our website frequently to provide the latest information on our operations and corporate developments.
