Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-UOB sees dip in SPH Q3 net profit

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-UOB sees dip in SPH Q3 net profit Jun 26th 2012, 04:33 Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:33am EDT UOB Kay Hian said it expects Singapore Press Holdings Ltd to report a net profit of about S$105 million ($81.8 million) for its third quarter, down 9 percent from a year earlier, mainly due to lower net investment income. SPH is expected to report its results for the three months ended May on July 13. SPH shares were up 0.3 percent at S$3.79 on Tuesday and have risen nearly 3 percent so far this year versus the 6 percent gain in the broader Straits Times Index. For the third quarter of its 2011 fiscal year, SPH reported a relatively high net investment income of S$23.7 million, boosted by fair value gains, UOB said. It noted that SPH's net investment income is usually around S$5-10 million a quarter. UOB said it forecast advertising revenue to fall 1-3 percent from a year earlier, while SPH's newsprint prices have peaked and are expected to be flat going forward. But the broker said SPH offers relatively resilient earnings and an attractive annual dividend yield of 5.8 percent. "Defensive stocks are back in vogue amid stock-market volatility," UOB said, maintaining its 'buy' rating and target price of S$4.60 on SPH stock. 1222 (0422 GMT) (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 10:11 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-OCBC upgrades residential sector OCBC Investment Research has upgraded Singapore residential sector to overweight as it expects mass market prices to stay buoyant and sees value in shares of high-end developers. OCBC forecasts mass market price to grow by up to 5 percent this year, as there is ample liquidity still, with interest rates expected to stay low until 2013. The brokerage said it favours City Developments Ltd for its mass market exposure and upgraded it to 'buy' from 'sell' and raised its target price to S$11.53 from S$8.92. CityDev shares were 0.1 percent up at S$10.57, and have risen about 19 percent since the start of the year, versus the Straits Times Index's 6 percent gain. High-end home prices are expected to fall 10-20 percent this year, but OCBC said it sees value in shares of high-end property developers. SC Global, Wing Tai and Ho Bee together are valued at 0.54 times their book value, below average levels seen in 2008's global financial crisis. "We believe that luxury developers' equities have baked in excessively pessimistic expectations," OCBC said in a report. OCBC downgraded UOL Group to 'hold' from 'buy' and kept its target price at S$4.80, citing its limited exposure to the mass market residential segment. "With only one domestic site in UOL's land-bank currently, we view land acquisitions to be key requirements for share price outperformance ahead," OCBC said. UOL shares are up 1.7 percent at S$4.80, and have gained 20 percent since the start of the year. 0949 (0149 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 9:38 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-K-REIT Asia up on Ocean Fin stake hike Units of K-REIT Asia, a real estate investment trust managed by Keppel Land, rose as much as 3.4 percent to a 9-month high after it said it raised its stake in a Singapore office property to nearly 100 percent. By 0123 GMT, K-REIT Asia units were 2.4 percent higher at S$1.05, with 426,000 units traded, compared to its full-day average of 589,800 over the last five sessions. K-REIT said on Monday it will buy 12.39 percent of the partnership that owns Ocean Financial Centre, raising its stake to 99.9 percent. The acquisition price works out to S$261.6 million or about S$2,380 per square foot of net lettable area, net of rental support of S$24.1 million. CIMB Research increased its target price for K-REIT Asia to S$1.17 from S$1.14, and kept its outperform rating to factor in the accretion from the purchase. "We are net positive on K-REIT's acquisition...with increased control and good placement price outweighing slight negatives from higher asset leverage," CIMB said in a report. 0925 (0125 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ($1 = 1.2843 Singapore dollars) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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