They were not really evasive from their body language. Just that they were not sure of the exact amounts collected. Judith said most of the TR were collected. KC has prudent receivables management when u look at historical figures. We just have to wait for the quarter results before speculating on anything.
Regarding Mr Soh's comment on low barriers to entry, he said that even though KC has low barriers to entry, it's takes a lot of time and effort for a startup company to be of KC's stature and branding. So, in a way, KC does have a viable moat. To retain talents (as designers are the most important ppl in this business), KC focuses on intangibles like creating a good environment, having bonding sessions, having in-house design competitions, etc. I also asked Andrew about this as well and he said the company culture is what keeps the designers going, on top of monetary awards. Creative people like to work in a conducive environment and KC provides this environment. Andrew also went on to say KC minimizes the push factors by using ways mentioned above.
I will probably do a summary of what was discussed during AGM in my blog over the weekend.
Thanks Taka666, appreciate the effort in compiling the info obtained from the AGM.
I also gleaned a significant amount of information from the AGM, and most of it was from a list of questions I prepared before I went to the AGM. Chatting with the General Manager and hearing Ben Soh and Simon Ong speak really helped to answer a lot of queries and also clarify many doubts. Of course, not everything was roses as there were several "stumbling" blocks to growth, but overall the Company is well-managed and the two founders are conservative, slow but steady people. Basically, people you can depend on to align their interests with shareholders. Incidentally, I feel that the way Ben Soh talks about human talent and retaining talent is similar to how FF Wong of Boustead talks about incentivising his staff to perform better. To digress a little, Boustead is also a very well-run company which generates a lot of FCF and has high ROE.
For now, I am compiling the snippets of information I obtained from the AGM, and am penning it down in bits and pieces. A lot of the information was spoken and I did not actually record it down, but from talking to Andrew and listening to Ben Soh I could make certain conclusions on various aspects of the Company. Right now I am collecting my thoughts and crystallizing the facts, and plan to post it up when ready.
I will probably need to organize the information into topics which can be easily read by readers. Will post a little snippet on VB for all to read, and the rest of it on my blog. Probably mid-to-late May as I am still expecting three of my companies to report Full-Year 2011 results.
Regards!
Looking forward to reading both taka's and MW's write-ups, since I did not get a chance to attend the AGM. Thanks in advance!
(14-04-2011, 01:02 PM)Jon-san Wrote: [ -> ] (14-04-2011, 09:51 AM)valuestalker Wrote: [ -> ] (14-04-2011, 09:19 AM)corydorus Wrote: [ -> ]I used their service for my home once. They practice payment schedule by renovation stages of completion.
Cory
They do residential project also?
Wanted to ask that also. Coz i'm getting my keys in 1 1/2 weeks time. Wonder if they give discounts for shareholders... Lol 
Sorry for the late reply as i want to make sure as you all seems surprise.
Dug up a 10 year old record in my cabinet ... it says King Hall ...(Professional Interior Designer). So should not be the same company.
No discount... however Good News for you is, it doesn't matter.
They practise stages collection as well. Maybe is industry practise.
Cory
(Reminder: Is Time to archive all my things electronically ... and not from memory)
thanks for the information it has been helpful
Wow. I am very impress with their investor relations.
Last Sunday (24th April) Andrew promised me that he will mail me a copy of their AR to replace my copy with the missing pages. As I am currently staying overseas, I was not expecting it to come anytime soon. To my surprise, I received the copy on Saturday (30th April). They paid $20+ worth of postage to get it to me.
I am floored.
They sent it to ur overseas address within a week??? Do u live in Asia or further away? Excellent IR indeed!
natnavi, this simple episode shows that Kingsmen cares about its shareholders, even though we may be minority shareholders.
My Annual Report copy seems complete. One thing i notice is the report quite thick, maybe should give in CD form. More env friendly.
Better still if they can switch to just souvenior form and a link to down the file instead.
Cory
I still prefer the hard copy as it's easier to look through and less tiring than pdf format..