Enerplus Corporation - An Overview

Enerplus Corporation is a North American energy producer with a varied asset base of top-quality, low-decline oil and gas assets well complemented by growth resources with greater economics. The company focuses on strengthening value for its investors by developing properties in a successful manner and managing a disciplined balance sheet. By carrying out its various activities the company strives to provide a good return of income and growth to its investors.

Enerplus has been resilient even in a very competitive environment and unstable market conditions just because of being a responsible producer of resources. The Enerplus executives pay a close attention and are very responsible towards their employees, their shareholders, their partners and the communities engaged with them. This responsible outlook has been incorporated in the Enerplus foundation and has added to the company’s success.

In 2010, the company generated a revenue of more than1.2 billion from oil and gas sales of 82, 138 BOE/day. These figures placed Enerplus among the top traded gas and oil producers. The picture of Enerplus has been quietly changed from its early times.  Enerplus was founded through investments in gas and oil assets in 1986 with about two dozen employees. The company continued to acquire assets while yielding a high income sharing model. With good progressive plans, the company turned into a high oil and gas producer with about 800 employees.

Enerplus has a low risk and a good return on its investments because of its focus on generating cash flows from the oil and gas industry. The entrepreneurial spirit of the company has helped it in acquiring more attention by providing high yields to its shareholders. Enerplus says that “you are not buying assets but a company with organized people and a well built system”.  Enerplus promises no change in its fundamental values.

Another reason for taking note of  Enerplus is its employee feedback program in which a survey is being conducted every two years by the company. The company compares its performance with its industry peers and studies the survey closely to find the areas which need to improvement. These programs are carried out for empowering the employees and uncovering the ideas for yielding high and profitable results. Enerplus possesses a technical toolkit of a large firm but is quiet small to move decisively with a team of talented experts who have the power of harnessing new technologies to unleash the best resources.

The best time to be a part of a company is when it is in the stage of growth.  Enerplus has already made deep foundations in North America’s various resource plays. A lot of drilling is already going on and the company is trying its best to find out how large can these plays be. The company’s main focus is on Oil and liquids rich gas which has a very high market, so investing in this company could probably yield very high returns.

Dividends from Armour Residential REIT

Received a cheque for the dividends from Armour Residential REIT.  Based on my holdings of 500 shares, I am given $38.13.  Not a bad amount if you ask me.  Just the day before receiving this cheque, I also just banked in the cheque that I received for my investment in Gamco Global Gold and Natural Resources Trust.

Feng Tian Wei Wins Bronze Medal

Congratulations to Feng Tian Wei who has won the bronze medal in the Olympics for Singapore on 1 Aug 2012.  Watched the match last night and was impressed with how she completely dominated her opponent.  A medal is a medal is a medal.

Stock Portfolio Update (July 2012)

It has been a long time since I did an update of my stock holdings and I thought it was timely to do so after I just bought some Sabana REIT today.  This is the list of my current holdings:

1. Ascott Residence Trust
2. Cambridge Industrial
3. Suntec REIT
4. Sabana REIT
5. AIMSAMP REIT
6. Fortune REIT
7. Capitaland
8. Innotek
9. China Aviation Oil
10. Unifood
11. Kingboard
12. Pacific Andes
13. Citigroup (US)
14. Armour Residential REIT (US)
15. Gamco Global Gold & Natural Resources Trust (US)

Breadtalk and Sheng Shiong

Recently, I wrote about investing in things I use - Mapletree Commerical Trust and Breadtalk.  The idea was really to look out for investment opportunities based on the goods and services that I come across in Singapore.  If one thinks about it, there are probably many goods and services that I use or come across during my daily life.  And that probably should get me thinking on whether this presents itself as a good investment opportunity.

Breadtalk


I frequent Breadtalk and Toastbox quite often.  So it is not surprising that I am pretty well acquainted with their business.  While you won't be able to find a toast box located side by side with Breadtalk all the time, most store outlets now usually have both Breadtalk and Toastbox located together.  In terms of crowds, Toastbox is always crowded.  It should be profitable.  Each Toastbox outlet probably only hires 4 to 5 staff. And the number of people ordering takeaways also seem to be quite a lot.  For Breadtalk, it is just a bakery but the morning crowds usually throng the place.  I like Breadtalk's business from how I view it.  At least the Singapore side of the story.  I remember seeing Breadtalk shops in Malaysia that looked quite empty.

Sheng Shiong

Well, perhaps this is a stock that I better start putting in my shortlist.  Sheng Shiong is Singapore's third largest(?) supermarket store.  It has stores located at many neighborhoods all around Singapore and caters to the heartlanders.

Most Sheng Shiong supermarkets that I go to are always crowded.  That is a general observation and so their business should be good though I recognise that profit margins for retail outlets always tend to be lower.  It is a competitive business afterall.

If Sheng Shiong commits to paying 90% of its profit after tax as dividends, the stock will probably be quite attractive. This is however unlikely as it probably looks to expand in Singapore and the region.  Nevertheless, its dividend yield at 90% payout is a very attractive 6%.

Investing in Silver

Silver is a metal that has been known and used since the beginning of the civilization. Its use increased remarkably for the past 200 years in various fields that had contributed to the development of our society. The reason for its vast use is because it is the best conductor of electricity and heat, smooth reflector of light and has various health benefits. Silver is an important industrial material combined with both strength and softness and the ability to get stretched. It is wear resistant, has a high tensile strength, reflects light and reduces friction. It has great unique properties.

This strategic metal has infinite uses. The silver alloys are used to manufacture the disposable and rechargeable batteries. More than millions of silver zinc oxide batteries are manufactured worldwide annually, that include very small batteries for cameras, watches and other electronic devices. The high purity silver for electroplating steel bearings have great load carrying strength and capacity for heavy duty work. The bearings coated with silver provide great durability and safety in jet engines. The use of silver solders helps to join materials and makes leak tight, smooth and corrosion free joints. The silver alloys are used in refrigeration, air conditioners, power distribution, aerospace and automobiles. Silver membrane switches are used in most keyboards of laptop and desktop computers. Due to their durability and wide use, the market of silver-contact membrane switch is a multi billion industry in America.

The Silver demand hit about 880 million ounces last year, and the worldwide mining production contributed only 670 million ounces creating a deficit of 210 million ounce. A lot of people are unaware that the silver is the most used commodity in industry after oil. One of the best investments at this point of time is Silver. If you are looking for a profitable investment then you might want to consider investing in Silver.

If you are thinking of investing in silver, then the Silver bullion produced in America is a good option with the American Silver Eagle of one ounce. This coin is known all around the world and traded in various countries. They can be bought in a combination of 20 stacks or in a Monster box of 500 pieces. The second option will be 100% silver bars that are made in various sizes, designs and weights ranging from  bars of 1 ounce, 5 ounce and 10 ounce. The two popular silver refiners producing bars in different sizes are Johnson-Matthey and Englehard.

You might also be interested in reading the recent article on Investing in Gold or How Silver is Made.

[This article is a guest post.  Investors should carry out their due diligence prior to making any investment decisions]

Anchor Point and FCT

I visit Anchor Point from time to time and have always wondered whether I should be investing in Frasers Centrepoint Trust.  OCBC recently maintained a buy rating on FCT. On one hand, I am tempted to buy but on the other, I am a little skeptical since many of FCT's assets are in suburban areas.  Having witnessed the shoppers and traffic flow at Anchor Point, I am not so certain whether tenants there are profitable or not.  Have also seen the bookshop change hands a few times over the past years. The crowd on weekends are good but nothing fantastic.

Will probably just continue to monitor this before making any decision.  Not vested yet.