17 May 2014

Singapore Post 4Q FY 2013/2014 Result

Transformation efforts contribute to stable performance while SingPost Group continues to be under pressure with domestic mail volumes continued to decline for second consecutive year, compounded by escalating labour costs. The new subsidiaries and e-commerce related activities contribute to growth. Increasing cost pressures especially in Singapore, together with continued investment in service quality and productivity in Singapore.

In spite of the decline in the traditional postal business, SingPost Group revenue grew 5.9% in the 4Q of FY 2013/14, boosted by the full consolidation of new subsidiaries and the growth in e-commerce related businesses. Excluding contributions from the new subsidiaries, SingPost Group recorded organic revenue growth of 3%.

Domestic mail volumes continued to decline in 4Q, with the full year registering a reduction of 1.3%. However, overall Mail revenue grew 6.6% to S$123.4 million in the quarter, attributed to the increase in regional e-commerce transhipment business and inorganic improvement in direct mail revenue from Samplestore which was acquired in October 2013. For the full year, Mail revenue rose 11.5% to S$491.0 million.

Total expenses for 4Q increased 3.8% to S$170.0 million, attributed to the continued investment in resources for SingPost Group’s transformation, change in business model to a diversified group and growth in lower margin businesses. SingPost Group benefitted from the exceptional Government’s wage credit scheme which mitigated the increase in labour and related expenses due to additional headcount from the new subsidiaries. For the year, total expenses rose 26.4%.

Net profit increased 17.7% to S$30.7 million in 4Q. For the full year, net profit increased 4.8% to S$143.1 million. Excluding one-off items, underlying net profit declined 1.3% to S$31.4 million in the 4Q, while for the full year, it increased 2.9% to S$145.0 million.

The Board of Directors is recommending a final dividend of 2.5 cents per share for FY 2013/14. Together with the interim dividend payments of 1.25 cents per share for each of the first three quarters of the financial year, the proposed total dividend for FY 2013/14 would be 6.25 cents per share. The final dividend is payable on 18 July 2014.

15 May 2014

Croesus Retail Trust 3Q FY 2014 Result

Gross revenue for 3Q 2014 was JPY 1,391 million, 3.7% higher than the forecast due primarily to better than expected tenant sales at Mallage Shobu. The revenue from Aeon Town Moriya, Aeon Town Suzuka, Luz Shinsaibashi, Luz Omori and NIS Wave I were largely in line with forecasts.

Increases in overall tenant sales and rental income were largely due to a combination of active marketing and promotional activities during the quarter and purchases ahead of the consumption tax increase on 1 April 2014. The increase in tenant sales was partly offset by the negative effect of heaviest snowstorms that hit Tokyo in the last 45 years, over 2 consecutive weekends in February 2014.

Net property income for 3Q 2014 was JPY 933 million, 12.3% higher than the forecast. The main positive variances were due to the increase in gross revenue and lower property operating expenses such as lower than expected property management expenses and utility expenses. Overall, property operating expenses were 10.3% lower than forecast which is a good sign.

Income available for distribution for 3Q 2014 was JPY 620 million, 7.4% higher than the forecast. The higher income available for distribution was mainly due to higher net property income. This was partially offset by realized exchange losses and lease incentives which were paid and capitalized to be adjusted to future revenue. Overall, the income available for distribution per unit for 3Q 2014 was Singapore 1.76 cents, 8% higher than the forecast.

Singtel 4Q FY 2014 Result

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) reported a resilient 4Q, with net profit up 4% year-on-year to S$898 million even as the Australian dollar and regional currencies weakened significantly against the Singapore dollar. In constant currency terms, net profit would have grown 13%.

Earnings growth was driven by robust operating performance from the Singapore Consumer business and the regional mobile associates, led by Airtel. The regional mobile associates also saw good progress in their 3G network rollout and growth in mobile data services. The Group’s share of regional mobile associates’ pre-tax earnings increased 9% to S$558 million and would have grown 23% on a constant currency basis.

Operating revenue declined 8% but would have fallen 1% in constant currency terms. Singapore Consumer posted strong revenue growth but this growth was offset by lower consumer revenue in Australia and lower revenue from Group Enterprise. The board of Directors proposed a final dividend of 10 cents per share which is payable on August 2014, added up to total dividend of 16.8 cents for FY 2014.

09 May 2014

Frasers Centrepoint Limited 2Q FY 2014 Result

Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) continues to achieve strong revenue growth in 2Q. Growth driven mainly by contributions from overseas development properties and hospitality segment. The board of director declared an interim dividend of 2.4 cents per share which is payable on 12 Jun 2014. FCL continues to build on established overseas platforms to fuel the Group’s growth.

The Group’s 2Q FY 13/14 revenue and profit before interest and tax (“PBIT”) increased 48% and 32% from the previous corresponding period to S$501 million and S$143.8 million respectively. The increases were largely due to higher development property sales recognised in Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as improved operational performance from the hospitality segment. Inline with FCL’s higher PBIT, attributable profit (before fair value change and exceptional items) grew 44% year-on-year to S$107.1 million. Attributable Profit was down 20% in 2Q FY 13/14 as a result of an extraordinary item of S$41.8 million, which arose from the redemption of related company loans prior to FCL's listing. The one-off cost is the difference between the estimated fair value of the related company loans based on prevailing market interest rates at the time of redemption and the carrying value of the loans. Excluding this one-off cost, 2Q FY 13/14 Attributable Profit would have been up 28%.

08 May 2014

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT 4Q FY 2014 Result

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT announced the final quarter FY 2014 and year end financial results, which saw net property income (NPI) for the quarter rise 24.1% year-on-year to $19.3 million. NPI for FY 2014 increased 20% year-on-year to S$71.9 million. The Board of Directors declared a Distribution Per Unit (DPU) of 2.51 cents for the final quarter of FY 2014, taking the full year DPU to 10.53 cents, representing a rise of 1.1% year-on-year is payable on 24 Jun 2014.

Comparing FY 2014 DPU year-on-year of 10.53 cents, the FY 2013 DPU of 10.72 cents was boosted by a one-off 30 cents from capital gains on an asset sale. Furthermore, there was an enlarged unit base following its private placement in May 2013 and recent rights issue in March 2014. Excluding the effects from the recent rights issue, DPU for 4Q FY 2014 and full year would be approximately 2.95 cents and 10.97 cents respectively. The 4Q FY 2014 distribution to shareholders rose by 22.2% year-on-year to S$15.6 million.

Starhub 1Q FY 2014 Result

Total revenue decreased 2% to S$571 million and service revenue was lower by 1% at S$544 million. The Group’s EBITDA decreased 3% to S$177 million from S$182 million previously. EBITDA margin for the quarter was at 32.6%. Net profit after tax was S$84 million or 8% lower year-on-year (YoY). Free cash flow at S$105 million was 14% higher compared to last year’s S$92 million. Cash capital expenditure was 45% higher at S$67 million compared to the same period last year.

Fixed Network Services revenue registered the highest growth for the quarter at 2% YoY. This was followed by Mobile revenue at 1%. In terms of total revenue mix, Mobile continued to be the major contributor at 54%. Pay TV, Broadband, Fixed Network Services and Sales of Equipment contributed 16%, 9%, 16% and 5% respectively to the revenue mix.

The Board of Directors has declared an interim dividend of 5 cents per ordinary share for 1Q 2014. The dividend is payable on 30 May 2014.

COE prices dive to 21-month low

On 7 May 2014, the latest Certificate of Entitlement (COE) took a dive across the board, with the price for Category A falling the most by more than $10,000. It went from $71,335 to $60,002 in the latest round of bidding, on the back of more COEs released for the next three months.

Category B premium also dipped from $75,010 to $70,000 while Open Category premium fell from $73,810 to $65,501. Motorcycle COE also tumbled from $4,502 to $4,001. The only category that bucked the trend was Category C, for goods vehicles and buses, which went up from $32,890 to $36,301.

With this biggest drop to 21 month low, the COE looks set to be on downward trend. I am a closely look out of this COE since last year. I will be going in to buy in July 2014, hopefully by that time the price of the COE will drop to $30,000 for Category A. :p

SingTel fined record S$6 million

On 6 May 2014 after the trading hours, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has meted out a record of S$6 million fine to SingTel for the fire that broke out at a SingTel Bukit Panjang facility last year, causing a breakdown of mobile and broadband services to hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The fines will go to the digital inclusion fund. SingTel was also punished for lack of proper supervision that was found to have caused the fire.

On 7 May 2014, the start of trading session, SingTel shares drop by 3 cents which does not had any significant impact of the S$6 million fine. The shares of SingTel is still trading very strong despite the break out of the bad news. If retreat further, it creates an opportunity for investors to invest on this defensive stock which is giving good yield around 5-6%.