PRTASCO : The Slow and Steady Tortoise

I invested in PRTASCO about three years ago when its share was priced at about 99 to 1.05 sen. The good thing about this construction company is it gives a steady dividend between 5 to 8 sen a year and last year it gave a special dividend of 6 sen making the annual total of 14 sen.

As I was looking for a short term gain, I was not patient enough to ride this slow tortoise.  For almost two years its unit price hovered between 1.00 to 1.05 and so I cleared my position after a couple of dividend issues.

This company which traditionally has a contract on road maintenance and later migrated to construction. It has consistently been issuing an annual dividend for more than seven years. Another feature I like about this construction company is its wealth sharing with employees. I suppose many big companies have already been doing this through Employee Sharing Scheme (ESS). I know Westports has such an arrangement.

Late last year (2013) I reviewed my portfolio and in the process decided to re-purchase PRTASCO shares at 1.42 much to the the mirth of my better half. Well, he is no longer laughing at me now as PRTASCO has climbed up to 1.84  as at 1pm today.

PRTASCO_The Turtle seems to be sprinting
Source:BURSA MALAYSIA

I invested all my 2013 dividend from AS1M and a hefty loan from Jeff (already paid up with no interest) on this stock and the capital appreciation is now about 26.8% in less than six months, albeit unrealised gain. Last January 2014, I received its dividend at 4 sen a unit. I was quite pleased with it.

A dig at my better half ;)

I bought PRTASCO for two reasons; firstly I like its dividend policy , secondly I have been following its development, diversification activities and looking at its fundamentals generally. It's now into oil and gas as well.

I should have bought the stock much earlier but was mulling over it a long time and eventually forgot about it till last October 2013 when the tortoise has traversed so far ahead and now is crawling fast steadily.

I am glad I made a considered choice as far as investing in PRTASCO is concerned but really it's not always like this though. Take it from me, a small time investor who has gone through the up and down of the market, at times gritting my teeth.