NewSat flags interest in Singtel's sale of Optus unit

Australian satellite communications company NewSat has flagged its interest in Singapore Telecommunications Ltd's A$2 billion (US$1.88 billion) sale of its Australian unit, Optus Satellite.

NewSat chief executive Adrian Ballintine said a number of private equity firms and investment banks have approached the satellite operator about potential partnerships.

"There is an opportunity for us to be a participant," Mr Ballintine was quoted as saying in The Australian newspaper on Wednesday.

"It's fair to say that we have been approached by numerous PE firms and banks to partner up," Mr Ballintine said. "We could also manage the process too, which would be interesting."

Private equity firms KKR and Carlyle Group are among the suitors lining up bids for Optus, people familiar with the matter have previously told Reuters.

SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator, is battling tepid growth in its key markets of Singapore and Australia, and the funds raised from the sale would help it plough cash into faster-growing businesses.

France's Eutelsat Communications SA, Blackstone Group BX.N and Providence Equity Partners are also expected to bid, sources have said. SingTel is inviting first round offers by June 14, one of the people said. -Reuters

SPH up 3.9% after REIT plan

Singapore Press Holdings Ltd shares rose as much as 3.9 per cent to a seven-week high of S$4.56 on Tuesday after it announced plans to establish and list a real estate investment trust.

SPH, which dominates newspaper publishing in Singapore, aims to make S$1.048 billion (US$829 million) by selling part of the REIT whose assets are two shopping malls, in what could be the city-state's third-biggest initial public offering this year.

SPH had said it would explore the possibility of setting up a REIT earlier this year but had not given any details until Monday's announcement.

SingTel’s Q4 profit falls 33% to $868mil on stake sale, taxes

Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company, reported fourth-quarter profit fell 33% after taking a loss on a stake sale and paying higher taxes.

Net income declined to $868 million in the three months ended March from $1.29 billion a year earlier, Singapore-based SingTel said in a statement today. Sales fell 6.3% to $4.5 billion.

Higher earnings from SingTel’s affiliates in Indonesia and Thailand limited the impact of a falling contribution from Bharti Airtel in India, which posted a 49% drop in profit on higher interest and network costs. The Singapore phone company expanded fourth-generation services in the city-state in April and its Optus unit bought airwaves in Australia last week as they expand mobile networks to compete better.

The company said revenue this year will be little changed while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will rise by a “low single digit level”.

SingTel shares gained 1.8% to close at $3.99 in Singapore yesterday. The stock has climbed 21% this year, compared with a 8.4% advance in the benchmark Straits Times Index.

SingTel in March completed the sale of its 30% stake in Warid Telecom (Private) for US$150 million ($186 million) and will receive a 7.5% share of the net proceeds from any future sale, public offering or merger. It took a loss of $225 million from the deal.

The company had a one-time tax credit of $270 million last year from recognising an increase in the value of an asset transferred to an associate.

Del Monte buys 125,000 own shares

Del Monte Pacific Limited said on Wednesday that it has bought 125,000 of the company shares at 81.5 cents each yesterday.

The open market purchase, which cost about S$102,145, boosted the total number of shares purchased since the share buyback mandate was obtained, to 379,000 shares. This is about 0.029 per cent.

In April, the company announced plans to seek a dual listing in the Philippines.

The shares ended at 83.5 cents, up 3 cents on Tuesday.

Singpost full year earning drops

Singapore Post on Monday posted a 14.6 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit attributable to equity holders to S$26.1 million for its fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.

This was despite a 25 per cent increase in revenue to S$182.5 million from a year ago. The boost resulted from the consolidation of newly acquired subsidiaries as well as contributions from e-commerce related activities across all business segments. Its new units included General Storage Company from February 2013 and Famous Holdings in March 2013.

However, operating profit still fell due to higher corporate costs for the group's transformation, higher property-related expenses and a one-off write-off of an intangible asset.

Excluding one-off items, namely the write-off of intangible asset, SingPost recorded an 18.7 per cent growth in underlying net profit from S$26.8 million to S$31.8 million for the quarter.

OCBC's Q1 net profit down 16% at S$696m

OCBC Group on Tuesday posted first-quarter net profit of S$696 million for the period ended March 31, 2013, 16 per cent lower from S$832 million a year ago.

Excluding gains from the divestment of non-core assets, core net profit after tax of S$696 million was 12 per cent lower year-on-year, compared to S$790 million in 1Q12.

The corresponding quarter a year ago had included significantly higher trading income and mark-to-market investment gains from the insurance business, OCBC said.

Net interest income of S$912 million fell 4 per cent from S$951 million a year ago, as revenue from asset growth was offset by the impact of lower net interest margin.

Non-bank customer loans grew 10 per cent from a year ago, with broad-based growth across consumer, corporate and SME segments in most key markets, it said.

Asset quality remained strong. The non performing loan rate was 0.7 per cent at end-March, an improvement from 1.0 per cent a year ago.

Annualised return on equity, based on core earnings, was 11.7 per cent, a drop from 14.7 per cent a year earlier.

Tiger's sale to Virgin gets nod, shares soar

After six months of suspense, Tiger Airways has finally got the green light to sell 60 per cent of its loss-making Tiger Australia to Brisbane-based Virgin Australia for A$35 million (S$44.5 million).

Australia's regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), yesterday gave the nod, saying "it will not oppose the proposed acquisition by Virgin Australia", and noting that Tiger Australia is unlikely to remain in the local market without the Virgin investment.

The carrier's stock jumped on the news, rallying as much as 12 per cent to 73.5 cents, before ending the day at 68.5 cents, up 4.6 per cent. Some 14 million shares changed hands.