Venture Corp

Venture Corp: UOB Kay Hian maintains Buy with $9.10 TP. House note that 1Q13 is likely to be slow due to dismal macro environment. 2013 is backend loaded with stronger contribution from Oclaro and launch of new projects in 2H13. Indicators provide reasons to be optimistic. Book-to-bill ratio has bottomed since Oct 12. Major customer HP has finally got its act together and share price has surged on the back of distribution through dividend and share buy-back. Prospects for 2013 looks brighter due to new life science customers and several new product launches in 2H13. Revenue growth and margins are expected to be better in 2H13 due to contribution from new products and improvement in product mix. dividend policy is supported by net cash of $286m, or $1.04/share as of Dec 12. It has paid dividend of 50-55c/share over the past nine yrs.