TODAY'S HEADLINE
SPH POSTS 13% FALL IN Q3 PROFIT  
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) saw a creditable performance from its media and property businesses for the third quarter ended May 31 but a sharp drop in net investment income amid the 'nancial market volatility resulted in net pro't falling 13.1 per cent to $99.8 million.

At the operating level, the recurring earnings of the media and property businesses improved 2.2 per cent year on year to $112.64 million.
The three'month net pro't of $99.8 million translates to earnings per share of six cents, down from seven cents for the previous corresponding quarter.

Net income from investments dropped 59.9 per cent to $9.5 million from $23.7 million a year earlier. Operating revenue for the quarter was up 0.9 per cent year on year at $331.8 million, with a 12.8 per cent rise in property revenue to $48.68 million more than o'se''ng a 0.6 per cent dip in newspaper and magazine revenue to $261.37 million.

Print advertisement revenue remained stable with a 0.4 per cent increase to $201.8 million but circulation revenue declined 3.6 per cent to $51.8 million.

Operating revenue from the group's other businesses fell 4.1 per cent to $21.8 million due to lower income from SPH's exhibitions business.

For property, rental income from Clementi Mall was up 58.6 per cent at $9.5 million compared with the same period a year ago, during which the mall was not fully operational. Higher rental rates resulted in the group's Paragon property recording a $1.9 million or 5.3 per cent rise in revenue.


NEWS BUZZ

JB Foods  
Launches mainboard IPO
JB Foods, a major cocoa ingredient producer in Malaysia, has launched an IPO of 100mil shares comprising 84mil new shares and 16mil vendor shares at 30 cents each on the SGX mainboard. The company, which plans to distribute at least 30%  of its net pro't a''ributable to shareholders as dividends for FY2012 AmFraser Securities and Canaccord Genuity Singapore are the joint issue managers, underwriters and placement agents for the IPO. The IPO will close at 12 noon on July 19 and trading is expected to commence on July 23.

Ascendas Hospitality Trust  
IPO at 88 cents apiece, at low end of range  
Ascendas's Ascendas Hospitality Trust raised $770mil in Singapore's biggest IPO this year. The Singapore'based business trust sold units at 88 Singapore cents apiece. Ascendas Hospitality is forecast to have an annualised dividend yield of 6.8% next year at that price, according to a preliminary prospectus 'led July 9.


Singapore Exchange (S$6.50) 
Offer Nifty options from Monday
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is o'ering SGX S&P CNX Nifty Options from Monday. "This latest product partnership between SGX and National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) enhances o'shore investors' access to the Indian economy," said SGX. The Nifty Options add to SGX's suite of Asian equity derivatives, which include SGX S&P CNX Nifty futures, the dominant Indian product for international participants. SGX, the world's biggest o'shore market for Asian equity derivatives, accounts for about 25 per cent of Nifty futures trading globally.


Hotel Grand Central (S$0.82) 
Awards $101m contract to rebuild hotel
Hotel Grand Central said it has awarded a $101.38mil contract to Sato Kogyo (S) for the redevelopment of an existing hotel at 22 Cavenagh Road. The contract is for the demolition of the ageing hotel, piling work and construction of two new 10 'storey hotels, which will house 752 rooms collectively. Work is likely to commence in the 3Q this year and will take about two'and'a'half years to complete. The group expects to report a loss for the 2Q ended June 30 due to an expected impairment loss arising from the proposed demolition.

Source: The Business Times

Source: AmFraser