Author: tfwee
SembMarine – UOBKH
1H07: Net profit up 61% yoy to S$158.8m
SembCorp Marine (SMM) posted a 1H07 net profit of S$158.8m, up 61% yoy (2Q07: S$85.1m, +48% yoy). It has declared a record interim one-tier taxexempt DPS of 5.0 S cents (1H06: 2.8 cents gross dividend). The company has also proposed a 2-for-5 bonus issue to improve trading liquidity and a wider spread of shareholders. 1H07 turnover was S$2,005.3m, up 30% yoy, boosted by higher turnover in shiprepair (+34%), ship conversion & offshore (+35%) and rig building (+48%). However, shipbuilding’s turnover fell by 52% yoy, as it has been SMM’s conscious decision to cut back on shipbuilding contracts in view of the boom in offshore fabrication. 1H07 net profit was 48% of our FY07 net profit forecast of S$333.0m. Excluding a tax-writeback of S$4.4m in 1H07 and an asset impairment charge of S$6.1m in 1H06, net profit increase would have been 48% yoy. 1H07 earnings were substantially boosted by associates’ contributions of S$36.3m (+140% yoy) because of strong performance posted by 30%-owned associate Cosco Shipyard Group (CSG).
2Q07’s gross profit margin of 7.6%, while lower than 1Q07’s 8.4%, was higher than 2Q06’s 6.0%. Profit margins fluctuate quarter-to-quarter depending on turnover mix. Margins also depend on the number of project completions in the quarter as a significant portion of profit is usually recognised on project completion while very little profit is recognised in the initial stages of a project.
S$4.5b worth of new offshore & marine (O&M) contracts have been clinched by SMM in 1H07. This has already surpassed last year’s total new contracts of S$3.1b. As such, outstanding O&M orderbook (excluding shiprepair) rose from S$5.5b as of end-06 to S$8.2b as of end-1H07.
Our FY07 net profit forecast remains unchanged. However we have tweaked our FY08 and FY09 earnings forecasts marginally by 2-3%. We have raised our target price to S$6.50 based on our sum-of-the-parts valuation of S$6.49/share. Besides its 30% stake in CSG, SMM also owns 150.4m Cosco Corp (S) shares (6.7% stake). At yesterday’s closing price of S$4.94/share, this investment is worth S$743m or 50.6 S cents per SMM share. Maintain BUY on SMM.
SBS, SMRT – BT
SBS, SMRT apply to council to raise fares
PUBLIC transport providers SBS Transit and SMRT have applied to the Public Transport Council (PTC) to raise bus and train fares.
Energy and manpower costs were cited as some of the reasons for the proposed hikes, according to press statements released separately by both companies yesterday.
SMRT said it faces cost pressures in spite of efforts to manage cost and improve productivity. It said that electricity cost has increased by 26.3 per cent from $31.5 million in FY2006 to $39.8 million in FY 2007.
It also said that the high price of diesel has been further compounded by a 3.8per cent increase in the cost of diesel for SMRT buses, from $34.2 million in FY2006 to $35.5 million in FY 2007.
The increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by two percentage points as well as the 1.5 percentage point increase in employers’ CPF contribution alone will negatively impact SMRT’s annual earnings by an estimated $11 million.
It added that the PTC’s fare adjustment of 1.8 per cent still lags rising costs, and will only partially mitigate increases in the cost of fuel and electricity.
SBS Transit said that while the company is still profitable, a fare adjustment is necessary to enable it to invest in its business so as to improve its services to serve commuters better.
SBS Transit said it invested $35 million in its new batch of 100 single-deck buses which will be on the road from the third quarter of this year.
The fare changes, if accepted by the PTC, will be announced next month and could come into effect as early as October.
SMRT – BT
SMRT appointed as Dubai’s Palm Monorail operator
(DUBAI) SMRT Corp, Singapore’s subway operator, will run a monorail on Dubai’s Palm Island for Nakheel, a developer owned by the Emirate.
The contract will cover maintenance and operation of the 1.4 billion dirhams (S$579.2 million) project, Nakheel said in an e-mail statement yesterday.
Nakheel has about US$30 billion of construction projects under way in Dubai spreading across two billion square feet of land, including the three ‘Palm’ islands, made from sand reclaimed from the sea. The Palm Monorail is the first in the Middle East and is being built by a group led by Marubeni Corp, Japan’s fifth-largest trading company.
Other means of mass transit are also being studied by developers in Dubai and neighbouring Abu Dhabi, as both sheikhdoms plan large-scale housing projects.
The monorail will link up with the Dubai Metro, the Persian Gulf’s first commuter metro.
Mitsubishi Corp, Japan’s largest trading company, won the US$3.4 billion contract to build the 72 kilometre light railway in 2005.
The driverless Palm monorail will carry up to 2,400 passengers per hour in each direction. The track is scheduled to open by November 2008. — Bloomberg
SingPost – BT
SingPost Q1 gain rises 24% to $38m
Expansion in the region through tie-ups in Thailand, HK paying off
BOLSTERED by all round business growth in mail, logistics and retail, Singapore Post delivered a more than one-fifth jump in quarterly earnings. For the first quarter ended June 30, net profit for the postal operator came to $38.4 million, up 24 per cent from the previous corresponding period.
Higher contributions from domestic mail, international mail and hybrid mail saw mail revenue increase 11 per cent to $91.4 million, while logistics revenue was up 4 per cent at $16.1 million on increased Speedpost traffic and vPOST on-line shopping transactions.
SingPost said that it would continue to work on rolling the vPOST service out into the region with a recent tie-up with PayPal in Australia to reach out to their large customer base.
Retail revenue rose 11 per cent to $14.1 million, underpinned by growth in financial services offered at its branches. Retail includes agency and bill presentment services such as bill payments and financial services like remittances.
The group said that it would continue to capitalise on its retail and distribution network to offer a wider range of services, including sale of the latest Harry Potter book.
Rental and property-related income saw an 11 per cent increase to $5.3 million from higher rental rates and yield enhancement initiatives at SingPost Centre.
All in, revenue grew 10 per cent to $115.5 million. Earnings per share rose to 1.998 cents from 1.617 cents. Total expenses were up 8 per cent to $79.5 million, as a result of higher labour and volume-related costs as well as selling expenses, due to increased business activities.
SingPost group CEO Lau Boon Tuan said: ‘In the first quarter, the group continued to pursue various initiatives to maintain our growth momentum.’
These initiatives included enlarging its presence in the region, such as in the area of hybrid mail services. In May, it said that it signed a cooperation agreement with Hongkong Post for the hybrid mail business in Hong Kong followed by the signing of a joint venture agreement with the Thai British Security Printing Public Co Ltd to provide hybrid mail services in Thailand.
The basic domestic and international mail services were opened up to competition on April, ending SingPost’s 15-year monopoly. Changes made to the Postal Services Act had been passed by Parliament earlier this month.
SingPost shares rose two cents or 1.6 per cent yesterday, ending at $1.24.
July 2007
New data for the month includes,
Results
- 30-Jul-07 (mkt close) : SingPost (Q108) – EPS 1.998ct ; DPS 1.25ct
- 27-Jul-07 (mkt close) : SMRT (Q108) – EPS 2.5ct
- 26-Jul-07 : MacCookPSF (Q407) – Rx DPU S 2.61877ct
- 23-Jul-07 (mkt close) : M1 (Q207) – EPS 4.3ct ; Div 2.5ct + Cap Reduction 4.6ct
- 19-Jul-07 (mkt close) : Sing Food (Q207) – EPS $0.008
- 11-Jul-07 (mkt close) : SPH (Q307) – EPS $0.10
|
Stock |
Period |
DPS ct |
Price |
Yield |
PE |
Div Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SPH |
FY06 – Aug |
24.0 |
S$4.50 |
5.333% |
16.67 |
Interim 7ct ; Final 8ct + 9ct (Special) |
|
SingPost |
FY07 : Mar |
6.25 |
S$1.25 |
5.000% |
17.15 |
Q1 1.25ct ; Q2 1.25ct ; Q3 1.25ct ; Q4 2.5ct |
|
Sing Food |
FY06 : Dec |
5.4 |
S$0.89 |
6.067% |
15.08 |
Interim 2.2ct ; Final 3.2ct |
|
STEng |
FY06 : Dec |
15.11 |
S$3.70 |
4.084% |
24.42 |
Final 4ct + 11.11ct (Special) |
|
Stock |
Period |
DPS ct |
Price |
Yield |
PE |
Div Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SBSTransit |
FY06 : Dec |
28.5 |
S$3.16 |
9.019% |
17.10 |
Interim 5ct ; Final 6.5ct + Special 17ct |
|
ComfortDelgro |
FY06 : Dec |
11.0 |
S$2.07 |
5.314% |
17.54 |
Interim 3.125ct + Special 3.375 ; Final 3ct + Special 1.5ct |
|
SMRT |
FY07 : Mar |
7.25 |
S$1.79 |
4.050% |
20.11 |
Interim 1.5ct ; Final 5.75ct |
|
Stock |
Period |
DPS ct |
Price |
Yield |
PE |
Div Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SingTel |
FY07 : Mar |
20.6 |
S$3.50 |
5.886% |
15.05 |
Interim 4.6ct ; Final 6.5ct + Special 9.5ct |
|
M1 |
FY06 : Dec |
13.3 |
S$2.14 |
6.215% |
12.89 |
Interim 5.8ct ; Final 7.5ct |
|
StarHub |
FY06 : Dec |
11.5 |
S$2.75 |
4.182% |
15.63 |
Q1 2.5ct ; Q2 2.5ct ; Q3 3ct ; Q4 3.5ct |
|
Stock |
Period |
DPS ct |
Price |
Yield |
NAV |
Div Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SPAus |
2H : Mar-07 |
7.0846 |
S$1.77 |
8.005% |
– |
1H A5.4841ct @ 1.2105 ; 2H A5.4766 @ 1.2936 |
|
MIIF |
2H : Dec-06 |
4.0 |
S$1.11 |
7.207% |
$1.07 |
1H 3.95ct |
|
MacCookPSF |
Q4 : Jun-07 |
2.61877 |
S$1.44 |
7.274% |
A$1.06 |
Q307 A2.375ct @ 1.2614 ; Q407 A2.375ct @ 1.3103 |
NOTES :
- Mkt Price is as on 31-Jul-07
- SingPost : Q108 (Jun) – 1.25ct
- M1 : 1H07 (Jun) – Interim 2.5ct + Capital Reduction 4.6ct
- SPAus : 2H07 (Mar07) – A5.4766ct @ 1.2936 ; 1H07 (Sep06) – A5.4841ct @ 1.2105
- MacCookPSF : Q407 (Jun) – A2.375ct (S2.61877ct) ; Q307 (Mar) – A2.375ct (S2.867ct) ; A$ – Gross / S$ – After Tax
- StarHub : Q107 – 3.5ct
- SingTel : Q407 (Mar07) – Final 6.5ct + Special 9.5ct ; Q207 (Sep06) – Interim 4.6ct
- SMRT : Q407 (Mar07) – Final 5.75ct ; Q207 (Sep06) – Interim 1.5ct
- SPH : 1H07 (Feb07) – Interim 7ct
- ThomsonMed : 1H07 (Feb07) – Interim 0.75ct + Special 0.75ct