SBSTransit – BT
SBS Transit profit falls 32.4% to $36.7m
HIGHER fuel and staff costs slowed down SBS Transit in 2011, with its net profit for the full year ended Dec 31 sagging 32.4 per cent to $36.7 million.
But SBST’s full-year revenue crept up 4.2 per cent to $751.1 million while operating expenses rose 7.5 per cent to $705.4 million. As a result, full-year operating profit fell 29.4 per cent to $45.7 million. No fourth quarter numbers were released.
SBST is a unit of land transport giant ComfortDelGro. Its fleet of about 3,000 buses accounts for three-quarters of all public buses in Singapore. It also operates a rail network about a third the size of SMRT Corp’s.
Its revenue from bus operations rose 3.1 per cent to $566.1 million from the previous year on an increase in average daily ridership of 6 per cent, although this was offset by a lower average fare. But higher diesel and staff costs caused the bus division to suffer an operating loss of $6 million compared with an operating profit of $14.9 million in 2010 despite higher bus fare revenue.
As for rail operations, 2011 revenue rose 10.5 per cent to $134.4 million as average daily ridership for the North-East Line and the two Light Rail Transit systems climbed 12.9 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively.
Despite lower average fares, operating profit improved 12.5 per cent to $19.7 million mainly because of higher rail fare revenue but offset by higher electricity and staff costs.
The revenue from advertising slipped 0.3 per cent to $36.2 million. On the other hand, rental revenue rose 3.9 per cent to $14.4 million on higher income from roadshows at the interchanges. But higher staff costs caused operating profit to slip 0.2 per cent to $10.3 million.
SBST’s FY11 earnings per share slumped to 11.87 cents from FY10’s 17.61 cents. But net asset value of 107 cents at end-2011 was higher than the 103 cents 12 months earlier.
A final dividend of 2.8 cents per share has been proposed, lower than the previous year’s 4.3 cents.
Looking ahead, SBST anticipates bus and rail ridership to increase at a slower rate due to the weaker economic growth expected.
Given the current price trend, the company also sees higher fuel and electricity costs, while staff costs are likely to grow with salary increments and higher foreign workers’ levy. Depreciation costs will rise with the renewal and expansion of the bus fleet, and all these will impact the bus segment significantly. Start-up costs are also expected for the Downtown Line, following the recent tender award.
SBSTransit – BT
SBS Transit profit falls 32.4% to $36.7m
HIGHER fuel and staff costs slowed down SBS Transit in 2011, with its net profit for the full year ended Dec 31 sagging 32.4 per cent to $36.7 million.
But SBST’s full-year revenue crept up 4.2 per cent to $751.1 million while operating expenses rose 7.5 per cent to $705.4 million. As a result, full-year operating profit fell 29.4 per cent to $45.7 million. No fourth quarter numbers were released.
SBST is a unit of land transport giant ComfortDelGro. Its fleet of about 3,000 buses accounts for three-quarters of all public buses in Singapore. It also operates a rail network about a third the size of SMRT Corp’s.
Its revenue from bus operations rose 3.1 per cent to $566.1 million from the previous year on an increase in average daily ridership of 6 per cent, although this was offset by a lower average fare. But higher diesel and staff costs caused the bus division to suffer an operating loss of $6 million compared with an operating profit of $14.9 million in 2010 despite higher bus fare revenue.
As for rail operations, 2011 revenue rose 10.5 per cent to $134.4 million as average daily ridership for the North-East Line and the two Light Rail Transit systems climbed 12.9 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively.
Despite lower average fares, operating profit improved 12.5 per cent to $19.7 million mainly because of higher rail fare revenue but offset by higher electricity and staff costs.
The revenue from advertising slipped 0.3 per cent to $36.2 million. On the other hand, rental revenue rose 3.9 per cent to $14.4 million on higher income from roadshows at the interchanges. But higher staff costs caused operating profit to slip 0.2 per cent to $10.3 million.
SBST’s FY11 earnings per share slumped to 11.87 cents from FY10’s 17.61 cents. But net asset value of 107 cents at end-2011 was higher than the 103 cents 12 months earlier.
A final dividend of 2.8 cents per share has been proposed, lower than the previous year’s 4.3 cents.
Looking ahead, SBST anticipates bus and rail ridership to increase at a slower rate due to the weaker economic growth expected.
Given the current price trend, the company also sees higher fuel and electricity costs, while staff costs are likely to grow with salary increments and higher foreign workers’ levy. Depreciation costs will rise with the renewal and expansion of the bus fleet, and all these will impact the bus segment significantly. Start-up costs are also expected for the Downtown Line, following the recent tender award.
SingTel – BT
Bharti Airtel profit slides 22% in Q3 to 10b rupees
(MUMBAI) Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s largest wireless operator, reported profit that missed analysts’ estimates as customers curbed mobile-phone use amid rising call rates.
Third-quarter net income fell 22 per cent to 10.1 billion rupees (S$255.6 million) in the three months ended Dec 31, from 13 billion rupees a year earlier, New Delhi- based Bharti said in a statement yesterday.
That lagged behind the 13.9 billion rupee median of 25 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Bharti raised call rates 20 per cent in most parts of India last year, after a price war sparked by the entry of Telenor ASA and NTT DoCoMo Inc into the world’s second-largest wireless market drove tariffs to less than a penny a minute.
The mobile-phone carrier controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal added fewer new customers in the quarter than smaller rivals Reliance Communications Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd.
‘Bharti’s subscriber additions are lower because they’re not in growth mode any more, so incremental minutes growth is lower,’ Unmesh Sharma, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities in Mumbai, said before the announcement. ‘It’s a sign of their maturity in the market.’
Bharti closed 6.5 per cent lower in Mumbai trading yesterday, compared with a 0.48 per cent advance by the benchmark Sensitive Index. The stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Sensex.
Average monthly minutes of use per user in India fell 7 per cent to 419 minutes in the three months ended Dec 31, from 449 minutes a year earlier.
The number of mobile- phone customers in the South Asian country increased 15 per cent to 175.7 million, Bharti said. — Bloomberg
SingTel – BT
Bharti Airtel profit slides 22% in Q3 to 10b rupees
(MUMBAI) Bharti Airtel Ltd, India’s largest wireless operator, reported profit that missed analysts’ estimates as customers curbed mobile-phone use amid rising call rates.
Third-quarter net income fell 22 per cent to 10.1 billion rupees (S$255.6 million) in the three months ended Dec 31, from 13 billion rupees a year earlier, New Delhi- based Bharti said in a statement yesterday.
That lagged behind the 13.9 billion rupee median of 25 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Bharti raised call rates 20 per cent in most parts of India last year, after a price war sparked by the entry of Telenor ASA and NTT DoCoMo Inc into the world’s second-largest wireless market drove tariffs to less than a penny a minute.
The mobile-phone carrier controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal added fewer new customers in the quarter than smaller rivals Reliance Communications Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd.
‘Bharti’s subscriber additions are lower because they’re not in growth mode any more, so incremental minutes growth is lower,’ Unmesh Sharma, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities in Mumbai, said before the announcement. ‘It’s a sign of their maturity in the market.’
Bharti closed 6.5 per cent lower in Mumbai trading yesterday, compared with a 0.48 per cent advance by the benchmark Sensitive Index. The stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Sensex.
Average monthly minutes of use per user in India fell 7 per cent to 419 minutes in the three months ended Dec 31, from 449 minutes a year earlier.
The number of mobile- phone customers in the South Asian country increased 15 per cent to 175.7 million, Bharti said. — Bloomberg
SATS – Kim Eng
Possibility of higher dividends
Slightly below. SATS’ 3Q12 headline net profit came in at $38.2m, down 25.4% but underlying profit was an 8.6% decline to $43.7m after adjusting for the disposal of Daniels, including a one-off write-down of $5.5m. Core earnings were slightly below our forecasts, as TFK’s recovery was slower than expected, and costs have not come off significantly as yet. On balance, however, the numbers were still solid. SATS remains a Buy with a target price of $2.70. Basic dividend yield is attractive at 5%, and we do not exclude the possibility of a special dividend derived from the proceeds from the sale of Daniels.
Revenues remain robust. 3Q12 revenue grew 32.3% YoY. On a sequential basis, revenue grew by 4.2%. Gateway services notably recorded a 10.5% YoY growth in revenue due to the growth in flights, while revenue from food solutions rose 49% YoY. TFK’s revenue was $82m for 3Q12. This remained a steady improvement over 2Q, as operations continue to recover from the Japan earthquake. Operating profit remained in the $1.5m range, as the recovery in earnings is taking longer than we had expected. Despite this, we expect TFK to be a far more significant contributor to earnings in the future.
Costs flat, but not softened. Staff costs have been well contained despite the growth in revenue. Raw material costs have also remained flat, but this is actually a slight disappointment as our expectation was that food prices would start to come off by now. However, management remains optimistic that raw material costs can still be contained with better management for the moment. We still anticipate some softening of this in the coming months.
Target price still $2.70. We adjust our FY12 forecasts solely for the reconsolidation. Management has raised the possibility of paying out some of SATS’ $421m net cash hoard, (enlarged by the proceeds from the sale of Daniels), by way of additional dividends. Nevertheless, our base dividend yield already stands at an attractive 5%. We maintain our Buy recommendation and target price of $2.70.