Reports » Singapore

Singapore stock market and companies daily report (REC, ComfortDelGro, Tiger Airways) (February 11, 2010)

Contributed by Shares Investment

By Shares Investment

M’sia Investment Agency Invests Rmb300m In Raffles Education Unit
Shares in Raffles Education Corporation (RE) surged as much as 17.4% in active trading yesterday after its subsidiary, Oriental University City (OUC), secured a Rmb300m investment from Malaysia’s state investment agency Khazanah Nasional (KN). KN will pay the sum for a 10% stake in OUC, which owns a campus in the Hebei Province that provides education services to 16 colleges and some 36,000 students. RE and KN said they expect to list OUC by August 2013.
REC said it will realise an estimated net gain of about $27.8m from the transaction. It intends to utilise the sale proceeds of about $62.47m for working capital purposes and to reduce bank loans. On the other hand, KN’s managing director Azman Mokhtar said the investment would allow it to capitalise on China’s growth and increased demand for skilled workforce by tapping into its higher education business, which is worth some US$39b annually on the back of 26m new students.

ComfortDelGro’s FY09 Net Profit Rises 9.7% To $219.5m
Land transport giant ComfortDelGro has reported a FY09 net profit of $219.5m, up 9.7% on-year despite revenue slipping 2.2% to $3.05b on the back of the weaker British pound and Australian dollar. Net profit would have been higher by 26.4% if not for net profit for the previous year which included an exceptional item of $26.5m. The lower cost of fuel contributed to a 4.9% decline in operating expenses to $2.7b. As such, operating profit soared by 25.9% to about $350m.
Revenue from the company’s bus business was lower on-year by 1.1% at $1.53b while the taxi business was 1.9% lower at $927.6m. Average daily ridership rose for its rail business – up 5.9% for the North East Line and 5.5% for LRT respectively – which grew revenue for its rail business segment by 2.5% to $109.2m. This year, the company expects revenue for its bus business in Singapore to be affected by the opening of several more stations on the Circle Line.
On the other hand, the company’s vehicle inspection and testing business rose $4.2m to $79.5m while car rental and leasing came in $4.1m lower at $33.4m for FY09 largely due to a smaller fleet and utilisation rate in Beijing. Revenue for the driving centre business was flat at $34.2m. A final tax-exempt dividend of $0.0267 per share, up from 2.4 cents a year ago.

Tiger Roars As Passenger Volume Jumps 53% In January
Tiger Airways said its has sold 428k seats in Asia and Australia last month, up 53% on-year, filling 86% of available seats across its network compared with 74% in January 2009. Load factor for the 12 month to end-January was 85% vs 80% in the previous corresponding period. Tiger president and CEO Tony Davis said the strong growth and sales will enable the carrier to continue to expand its fleet and services in both Australia and Asia.
Tiger Airways, which listed on the SGX last month and is expecting to take delivery of its 19th aircraft later this month, will release its 3Q10 financial results – for the three months ended Dec 31 – on Feb 25. This will be its first quarterly results announcement as a listed company.