Hits and Misses: Upcoming ASX Floats

Hits and Misses: Upcoming ASX Floats – part II

Part II of our series on upcoming ASX floats, and we may have stumbled onto two opportunities

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published May 19, 2015 2:27 pm AEST

In part 1 of our series, we took a look at some of the companies planning to float on the ASX. Our previous article may have uncovered 2 companies worthy of keeping an eye on, so let's see how we go in part II.

Superloop Limited (ASX: SLC)

If you're into tech stocks and let's face it, who isn't, then Superloop could be a company for you. Superloop invests in telecommunications infrastructure, and has the exclusive 15-year rights to a fibre network connecting data centres within the capital cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as an 120km underground duct network in Singapore. The latter has allowed Superloop to accelerate the rollout of its fibre optic network in Singapore. Superloop was founded by Bevan Slattery, a telecommunications entrepreneur, co-founder and former CEO of both PIPE Networks and Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT). PIPE Networks was acquired by TPG Telecom Limited (ASX: TPM) in 2010 while Nextdc owns and operates data centres.

Superloop is expected to list on the ASX on June 4, 2015 and although not yet profitable, looks very interesting.

Future Fibre Technologies Ltd (ASX: FFT)

Future Fibre Technologies Ltd (ASX: FFT) has already listed, and it too also looks interesting. The company has developed optic fibre security systems to sense for movement, vibration, pressure, strain, temperature and sound. One its applications is to protect 200kms of highly sensitive pipeline in Mexico. So far, the company has hundreds of installations in more than 55 countries and is forecasting 35% growth in revenues for the 2015 financial year. Shares were issued at 70 cents in the IPO but have already leapt to trade at 92 cents currently. Future Fibre could be one to add to your watchlist and we'll call it a Hit.

Flexiroam Limited (ASX: FRX)

Flexiroam is a Malaysian based telecommunications business that offers budget international roaming services for international outbound travellers heading overseas from eight countries including Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. The company has plans to expand its operations to China, Hong Kong and India too and replicate its business model in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

One area of concern is that the company competes with mobile apps such as Skype & FaceTime, which are hugely popular for providing cheap international phone calls and messaging. At this stage, I'd have to call it a Miss.

Flexiroam is expected to list on the ASX on June 16, 2015.

Wealth Defender Equities Limited (ASX: WDE)

A listed investment company (LIC), Wealth Defender Equities will be managed by Perennial Value Management. However, the company's Top 10 holdings are virtually the same as the S&P/ASX 200 (Indexasx: XJO) (ASX: XJO), which doesn't really justify the 1% management fee and performance fee on top. Investors might want to consider lower-cost LICs such as Australian Foundation Investment Co.Ltd. (ASX: AFI) and Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT) which charge fees of less than 0.2%. I'd have to call Wealth Defender as a Miss. The company will list on the ASX on May 22, 2015.

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