Reuters: Hot Stocks: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Barclays favours Ezra, Keppel for next earnings

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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Barclays favours Ezra, Keppel for next earnings Jul 11th 2012, 04:46 Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:46am EDT Barclays said it prefers oil and gas services firm Ezra Holdings and Keppel Corp going into the next results season as it sees earnings growth and potential catalysts such as possible financing resolutions for Ezra and further contract wins for Keppel. By 0428 GMT, Ezra shares were 0.5 percent lower at S$1.085, and have jumped 29 percent so far this year. Keppel, the world's largest rig builder, was up 0.2 percent at S$10.80 and has risen 16 percent since the start of 2012, compared with the FT ST Oil & Gas Index's 21 percent gain. Ezra is expected to deliver the highest year-on-year earnings growth in the April-June period out of the oil services and rig builders Barclays covers due to an increase in activity in its subsea business and utilisation of its offshore support segment, it said. Barclays estimates Ezra's earnings per share in the third quarter to jump 196 percent from a year ago, compared to Keppel's 9 percent rise and Sembcorp Marine's 4 percent gain. "The key focus of the upcoming results will likely be on the operating margins...Ezra is expected to deliver sequentially better margins, the Singapore rig-builders are also expected to at least maintain their operating margins," said Barclays. It has an 'overweight' rating on Ezra with a target price of S$1.70. Barclays said the recent pullback in Keppel and Sembcorp Marine shares are an attractive entry point for investors. It rates Keppel at 'equal weight' with a target price of S$13.30, and Sembcorp Marine at 'overweight' with S$7.00 target price. 1236 (0436 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ DBS Vickers downgraded vegetable processing firm China Minzhong Food Corp Ltd to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut its target price to S$0.60 from S$1.45, citing cost challenges, lower margins outlook and muted growth prospects. By 0215 GMT, China Minzhong shares were 1.6 percent lower at S$0.60 and have fallen about 26 percent so far this year, compard to the FT ST China Index's 2.4 percent rise. "The slower-than-expected flushing out of crops due to the winter delay in FY12 and persistently higher costs are likely to depress margins going forward," said DBS in a report. It also noted that China Minzhong is now more focused on expanding industrial farmland instead of agricultural farmland, which means slower earnings growth as margins for processing vegetables are much lower than for cultivating vegetables, said DBS. The brokerage said it expects China Minzhong's gross margins to decline to 35.3 percent in 2014 from 38 percent this year. 1019 (0219 GMT) (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) ************************************************************ 9:41 STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-IHH listing benefits ASEAN healthcare stocks-CIMB IHH Healthcare's planned $2 billion listing in Malaysia and Singapore - the third largest initial public offering of the year globally - has brought interest back into healthcare stocks in Southeast Asia such as Singapore's Raffles Medical Group Ltd , CIMB said in a report. Shares of Raffles Medical were up 0.9 percent at S$2.36, and have gained 11 percent so far this year, compared to the Thomson Reuters Asia Pacific and Russia Healthcare Index's 5.6 percent rise. "Recent news flow pertaining to the dual listing of healthcare giant IHH Healthcare in Malaysia and Singapore has certainly brought interest back," said CIMB, adding company-specific news also helped. Raffles Medical will benefit from hospital bed shortage in Singapore, which has a lower bed ratio lower than other developed countries at 2.22 beds per 1,000 people in 2010, CIMB said. It has an 'outperform' rating on the stock with a target price of S$2.69. "With capacity constraints in public and other private hospitals, patient loads at Raffles Medical's flagship Raffles Hospital have been good," the brokerage said. Raffles Medical is adding capacity at Raffles Hospital by increasing clinical services and specialist offerings, at a time when healthcare costs are rising. Other healthcare stocks in the region include Thailand's Bumrungrad Hospital, which has surged 71 percent this year, and Malaysia's KPJ Healthcare, up 35 percent this year. To read a related story, click (Reporting by Charmian Kok in Singapore; charmian.kok@thomsonreuters.com) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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