RH Energy

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

RH Energy (RHE) offers a full suite of integrated customised design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning services (EPCIC) to the oil and gas pipeline and storage operators and oil companies. Currently, RHE’s main business focus is to fabricate and install equipment and systems which form an integral component of a gas or oil pipeline in the PRC. RHE uses products from reliable and reputable international principals such as Cameron, Goodwin, Siemens and Ruhrpumpen, in order to meet the stringent requirements of RHE’s customers.

Within the PRC, pipelines are used to transport crude oil from the oil fields to the oil refineries for processing. After which, the refined oil is then supplied to the various towns and cities in the PRC via pipelines. Similar method is adopted to transport natural gas to the various towns and cities in the PRC. Pipeline is an economical, efficient (with minimum product loss during transfer) and safe method to transport the oil or gas produced from the oil or gas field to the refinery, and for distribution of the refined product or town gas from refinery and petrochemical plant to consumers. It is one of the main infrastructures that oil companies rely on for product transportation to reduce hazard, improve efficiency and maximise profit. This business connects RHE with both the upstream and downstream players in the oil and gas sector, hence providing RHE with a platform to expand its customer base.

The upstream activities cover exploration and production of oil and gas while the downstream activities include the transportation of oil and gas to the refineries, oil and gas refining activities, storage facilities and managing the distribution and marketing of the refined products to users. Having constant contact with companies involving in the upstream activities increases our chances of receiving more tender invitations and customers’ enquires. On the other hand, RHE also receives jobs referrals from companies engaging in the downstream activities who are satisfied with our products and services.

RHE’s principal activities can be broadly classified as follows:

(a) Equipment integration services – These services include (i) the engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and commissioning of emergency shut down valve system, directional flow control valve system and flow control valve system; (ii) the design, engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and commissioning of CNG pressure regulating system, custody transfer metering system and online natural gas analyser system; and (iii) the engineering, fabrication, installation and commissioning of pump and electromotor system;

(b) Manufacture and procurement services – These services comprise the manufacture of coating products (liquid form). The main function of coating products is to protect against corrosion of the surface of oil and gas pipelines and storage tanks, and other industrial metal surface. In addition, at the request of RHE’s customers, RHE may also assist them in sourcing and procuring the requisite equipment and spare parts for their use; and

(c) Consultancy services – RHE provides consultancy services to its principals and suppliers such as Cameron, Siemens International Trading Ltd, Ruhrpumpen, Flowserve Pumps and Emerson. Such consultancy services may include technical advice, on-site installation and commissioning works, and after-sale services.

RHE’s major customers are mainly from or affiliated to the three PRC major oil companies, namely the PetroChina Group, Sinopec Group and CNOOC Group.



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COMPETITION

RHE operates in a competitive industry. RHE’s competitors are companies who manufacture and/or supply equipment and systems to the oil and gas industry in the PRC. RHE competes based on pricing, product and service quality, reliability and durability of our products as well as technical competence.

The following are RHE’s main competitors:
• Best Petroleum & Natural Gas Equipment Co., Ltd , a PRC company who is principally engaged in providing equipment integration services for oil and gas projects.
• Sulzer Pumps (China) Limited is an entity of Sulzer Pumps Ltd, a company based in Switzerland. Sulzer Pumps Ltd develops and supplies centrifugal pumps and operates a network of service centres, offering maintenance, repair, spare parts and upgrading services for pumps.
• Schuck Armaturen, a company based in Germany that supplies pipeline and valves.

INDUSTRY PROSPECTS

Growing Oil Demand in the PRC
The demand for oil in the PRC has grown rapidly over the past decade driven by sustainable strong economic growth. Given the strong economic growth in the PRC over the past years, demand for oil has soared. The PRC is now one of the largest oil consuming countries in the world.

Demand and consumption of oil in the PRC is expected to increase in the future, driven by the expected continuing economic growth, industrialisation, urbanisation and growing affluence of the population. It is generally expected that in the next ten years, the daily demand for oil in the PRC will double its present demand and by 2020, more than half of the PRC’s oil demand will have to be met through imports from overseas.

For the above reasons, the PRC is putting together a comprehensive plan to include the carrying out of more oil exploration, development and production activities in the PRC, setting up of strategic oil reserves, acquisition of overseas oil resources, and the building of a country-wide oil and gas pipeline network. Our Directors believe that, in view of our Group’s competitive strengths, these initiatives will result in an increase in demand for our services and products.

Development of Natural Gas Market in the PRC
In light of the committed effort of the PRC Government to ensure more efficient use of energy and to identify alternative energy sources, the PRC Government has taken initiatives to promote the wider use of natural gas as an alternative form of energy, and its usage in the industrial and power generation, residential and transportation sectors, is expected to grow.

The PRC Government’s initiatives to promote the use of natural gas in the PRC have resulted in rising expenditures in the gas equipment market over the last few years. The substantial investments made by the PRC Government in respect of the construction of gas pipelines and LNG import terminals and port infrastructure are poised to have a significant impact on the supply and thus the widespread usage of natural gas in regions where such source of energy was generally unavailable before.

FINANCIALS

The following is some information that helps in making forecasts and estimates for RH Energy

Segment Information

Profit Margins (from HY07 report)

Order Book - HY07 Announcement
Order Book - End Aug Announcement

Based on the above announcements i have forecast 7.6m revenues in 2H07 and the remaining outstanding contracts as revenue in FY08. Naturally we expect RH to secure more contracts going forward so the forecast for FY08 will be conservative.

As for profit margins I have taken the average of FY04, 05 and 06. The margins in 06 appear to be anomalously high with some high margin contracts secured. With increasing competition and a different contract mix, margins are expected to drop drastically from FY06 to a more normalised level.
At the current market valuation of $0.70, RH Energy is very aggressive valued. It seems that the market is expecting the company to secure many more contracts going forward and/or secure contracts with high margins. This is a very optimistic scenario for the company because even though the oil extraction/transportation market is robust, RHE's industry is competitive and this is expected to have a negative pressure on margins.

It is interesting to note that market price of $0.70 is more than twice the IPO pricing of $0.32 earlier this year.

At the moment, the market appears to have very aggressive expectations for the 'China' and the 'Oil' stories to have a drastic positive impact on RHE's income statement; this stock is definitely not for the conservative investor.