● ST Engineering's 9M15 PATMI of S$388 mn was below expectations, achieving 73% of consensus' FY15 forecasts. 3Q15 EBIT decreased 16% YoY to S$121 mn, as a sharp profit decline in Marine more than offset improved performance in Land Systems.
● Marine EBIT declined 63% YoY to S$11 mn in 3Q15 as a fall in oil and gas capex led to lower demand for its shipbuilding and repair businesses. Land Systems' EBIT increased to S$15 mn in 3Q15 from S$10 mn in 3Q14, due to lower allowance for inventory obsolescence for its commercial business in China.
● Management reduced its guidance for FY15 PBT to be lower than FY14, compared to the earlier guidance for PBT to be comparable YoY. This was driven by a weak outlook for the MRO market, as well as a challenging environment for Marine.
● We reduce our 2015-17E EPS by 8-9% due to lower estimates for Marine. While there are limited positive drivers in the near term, we expect support for STE's share price as its current P/B of 4.7x is close to its 08/09 low of 4.3x. Maintain NEUTRAL.
Read more »