Raffles Med's steady growth, share split may spur the stock's next climb

AT a time when many mainboard-listed companies have embarked on or are contemplating share consolidation to meet the minimum trading price requirement, Raffles Medical Group (RMG) must have been the envy of many when it announced on Monday a 3:1 stock split.

Using Thursday's closing share price of S$4.33 as a guide, each subdivided share following the split will have a theoretical value of S$1.44. This, coupled with the fact that the trading board lot size is now 100 shares instead of 1,000 shares previously, will make the stock of the integrated private healthcare provider even more accessible to potential investors, enhancing its liquidity and likely widening its current shareholder base of some 7,780 shareholders.

Subject to shareholders' approval, once the proposed stock split is completed by the middle of the year - and assuming that there is no subsequent share issue - the company will have some 1.73 billion issued subdivided shares. RMG currently has 575.25 million issued shares and does not hold any treasury shares. The issued and paid-up share capital of the company as at Dec 31, 2015, of S$286.4 million will remain unchanged.