Award-winning Financial Journalist

Ashish Saxena

Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/412" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:412">M1 Ltd</a> has guided for a stable performance for the year despite a dull show in Q1. In what could be perceived as its preparation before the entry of a fourth operator, M1 said it has strengthened product propositions to attract and retain customers. That includes, improved SIM-only plans, upsized data bundles and expanded coverage of its roaming data passport countries.M1 is expediting investment in fibre network to extend reach to commercial buildings and major data centres. It has also expanded its suite of cloud-based offerings and smart vertical solutions. Furthermore, it intends to invest up to 2% of its revenue in early stage companies working on new technologies, benefits of which might only accrue in future years. In this insight, you'll read about:<ul><li>Key highlights from its Q1 earnings report.</li><li>Brokers' take on its Q1 earnings and a likely impact on entry of a fourth operator.</li><li>How its CEO sold all of the shares bought under ESOPs, making a gain of S$ 0.54 mln on it.</li><li>Curiously, she decided to let 400,000 ESOPs expire at a discount to market price.</li><li>She also sold 100,000 shares shortly after the company stopped its buy back operations last month.</li><li>How M1 could have saved a couple of million dollars had it bought back shares a few days before it actually did.</li><li>Also, why it is unlikely to spend more on its buy back program.</li><li>Finally, what are the likely scenarios if Keppel Corp were to sell stake in M1, as reported earlier this year.</li></ul>Let's get in to the details of each of those points.

M1 Ltd has guided for a stable performance for the year despite a dull show in Q1. In what could be perceived as its preparation before the entry of a fourth operator, M1 said it has strengthened product propositions to attract and retain customers. That includes, improved SIM-only plans, upsized data bundles and expanded coverage of its roaming data passport countries.M1 is expediting investment in fibre network to extend reach to commercial buildings and major data centres. It has also expanded its suite of cloud-based offerings and smart vertical solutions. Furthermore, it intends to invest up to 2% of its revenue in early stage companies working on new technologies, benefits of which might only accrue in future years. In this insight, you'll read about:Key highlights from its Q1 earnings report.Brokers' take on its Q1 earnings and a likely impact on entry of a fourth operator.How its CEO sold all of the shares bought under ESOPs, making a gain of S$ 0.54 mln on it.Curiously, she decided to let 400,000 ESOPs expire at a discount to market price.She also sold 100,000 shares shortly after the company stopped its buy back operations last month.How M1 could have saved a couple of million dollars had it bought back shares a few days before it actually did.Also, why it is unlikely to spend more on its buy back program.Finally, what are the likely scenarios if Keppel Corp were to sell stake in M1, as reported earlier this year.Let's get in to the details of each of those points.

M1 Ltd: What Should Investors Make of Its CEO's Share Sales and Expiry of Her In-The-Money Options?