On 22 January 2022, ceramic tile maker White Horse Bhd. announced that deputy managing director Teo Swee Teng, non-independent non-executive directors Teo Kim Lap and Teo Kim Tay, and substantial shareholder Teo Boon Hoo had disposed of 55,400 shares that were indirectly held by them, on 21 November 2021. While the number of shares sold may be small, amounting to only 0.024% of the total issued share capital of White Horse excluding treasury shares, it begs the question as to why the disclosure took two months to materialize. To make matters worse, checks on White Horse’s share buyback announcements indicate that on 21 November 2021, the company bought back 15,000 of its own shares at RM1.11 per share, or RM16,760.89 in total. This means that White Horse could have forked out cash to buy back its directors’ shares, a situation that left a bad taste in the mouth.
At the end of September, White Horse had cash and bank balances of RM62.90 million, and RM170.61 million in long and short-term debts. For the cumulative nine months, its interest expenses amounted to RM5.74 million. White Horse has been in the red in the past six quarters.
Filings show that White Horse has been busy buying back its own shares and, at an average of RM1 per share, it would have spent quite a large amount. As at mid-February, the company had accumulated 12.23 million in treasury shares, or almost 5.1% of its share base.
Using a case study technique, advise the board of directors of the company on the best course of action to manage the cash better, instead of buying back its shares, especially when the company is still making losses.