58 out of 83 firms that reported results as at Fri in the black; 25 made losses
By JAMIE LEE
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FULL-YEAR profits from 79 companies that have their financial year-end at March 31, 2009, fell 24.8 per cent to $6.1 billion, data compiled by BT showed.
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Out of the total 83 companies that reported their results as at last Friday - including those with no comparable year-on-year earnings - 58 are in the black, while 25 made losses.
For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 47 companies that had released comparable financial results posted combined net profit of $1.3 billion, down 37.7 per cent.
Singapore's largest company by market cap - Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) - posted full-year net profit of $3.45 billion, down 12.9 per cent from $3.96 billion a year ago.
The core net profit was 4 per cent above CIMB-GK and consensus forecasts due to higher-than-expected margins in Singapore and Australia, as well as lower-than-expected tax, said analyst Kelvin Goh in a client note.
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'SingTel remains our top Singapore telco pick for its earnings turnaround and exposure to emerging markets,' said Mr Goh, who kept an 'outperform' rating on the stock.
The spotlight has, meanwhile, turned to SingTel's possible exposure to the South African market after its subsidiary, Bharti Airtel, said last week that it had revived talks with the MTN Group - a South African telco - in a deal that would give them partial ownership of each other.
Full-year net profit of another bellwether - Singapore Airlines (SIA) - slumped 48.2 per cent to $1.06 billion from the $2.05 billion posted in fiscal 2008, due partly to lower traffic.
SIA is 'flying without wings', said Citi Investment Research analysts Robert Kong and Ivan Lim in a research report.
'Near-term earnings visibility is low given weak passenger demand and cargo volumes, yield pressure and fuel hedging losses,' added the two analysts, who have a 'sell' call on the stock.
A bigger sneeze could be awaiting SIA and its airline sector peers following the spread of the H1NI virus. As of yesterday, Singapore said it has detected five cases here.
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-Reit) saw a 12.6 per cent rise in full-year net profit to $211 million, from $187 million previously, performing within analysts' expectations.
'A-Reit has flagged out a handful of highly vulnerable tenants, who currently occupy 19,000 square metres in net lettable area (NTA),' said DMG & Partners Securities analyst Brandon Lee in a research note.
'Nonetheless, we believe the impact of default is minimal, as they account for merely one per cent of A-Reit's portfolio NLA and are backed by about seven months of security deposits,' added Mr Lee, who has a 'buy' rating on the stock.
Train operator SMRT Corp rolled out a 8.5 per cent increase in full-year net profit to $163 million from $150 million a year ago. SMRT recently said that it expects to make profit from the Circle Line after 2011, when the line is fully opened.
Phillip Securities analyst Mark Chow had earlier warned of higher expenses in the coming first quarter 2010 from higher staff and related costs when part of the line begins operations.
Crane rental firm Tat Hong Holdings said full-year net profit fell 23.3 per cent to $68.9 million from $89.8 million.
DBS Vickers analyst Ho Pei Hwa says the outlook for the firm remains gloomy.
'Equipment sales are expected to fall by 20 per cent to 30 per cent this year given customers' cautious capital investment plans as the credit market remains tight amid the slowdown in economy,' she said in a report.
'Rental rates are also expected to weaken by 10 per cent to 15 per cent in anticipation of a decline in demand from most sectors, apart from oil and gas and infrastructure,' said Ms Ho, who has a 'fully valued' call on the stock.
Meanwhile, retailers have also been affected by the poor consumer sentiment.
CK Tang sank deeper into the red, making a full-year net loss of $5.62 million compared with a net loss of $2.19 million a year ago.
Full-year earnings of Cortina Holdings were down 34.7 per cent to $6.33 million from $9.7 million a year ago. Its competitor, The Hour Glass, had full-year net profit slumping 58.1 per cent to $12.8 million from $30.5 million.
'Its earnings exceeded our expectation due to resilient gross margins and shrewd cost management,' said Kim Eng analyst Pauline Lee of The Hour Glass in a client note.
But Ms Lee, who had a 'hold' rating on the stock, warned that sales and profit margins ahead are likely to be crimped.
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