Eksons – cash can be a value trap

You may think that a company with lots of cash can be a good thing. Afterall many would not challenge the mantra that “cash is king”

But in the case of Eksons, you may have to think differently. As of the end of 2023, Eksons had about 2/3 of its total assets held in cash and short term securities. The huge cash position is because the company had scaled down its plywood business and its property development business had yet to scale up.

So it ended with tons of cash where a significant amount is now invested in securities. Unless they have a Warren Buffett in the company, you should worry about whether this is an effective deployment of cash.

My point is that the large cash holding is because of the lack of operations. This large cash holding has been there for many years. I used to think it was a good thing. But if a company is holding onto cash for years, it may not be a good thing. In this case, cash is actually a value trap.
https://www.i4value.asia/2023/10/eksons-is-now-...