TODAY'S HEADLINE
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK 
UOB's pro't up 12% Q2 net earnings at $713m; fee and commission income rises  
United Overseas Bank's second'quarter net pro't rose 12.1 per cent to $713 million from $636 million a year earlier, beating analysts' forecasts for a fall.

Higher fee and commission income helped o'set a fall in net interest income, and along with lower operating expenses, lifted net pro't 3.6 per cent higher than the 'rst quarter.

Fee and commission income rose 6.7 per cent from Q1, and 14.3 per cent from a year ago, to hit a new quarterly high of $386 million, thanks to strong loans processing and corporate 'nance activities.

This compensated for a 1.7 per cent sequential drop in net interest income, as lower interest yields o'set income from expanded loans volume. Net interest income rose 7.4 per cent from a year ago to $981 million.
Net interest margin fell to 1.92 in Q2 from Q1's 1.98 due to high liquidity and keen competition in the market but was unchanged from a year ago, UOB said. Trading and investment income was $151 million, down from $203 million in Q1.

The bank's e'orts to boost fee income to counter interest rate pressures, as well as its regionalisation strategy, continued to bear fruit, said deputy chairman and chief executive Wee Ee Cheong.

UOB's Q2 net pro't beat the $627 million average estimate of nine analyst forecasts compiled by Bloomberg and the $622 million average forecast from six analysts polled by Reuters.

Q2's performance lifted UOB's net pro't for the 'rst six months to $1.4 billion, 12.3 per cent higher than a year ago. It declared an interim cash dividend of 20 cents, unchanged from last year.

NEWS BUZZ
Overseas Union Enterprise (S$2.55) 
Posts 13.3 per cent jump in pro't  
Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) posted a 13.3% rise in net pro't to $22.8mil for the 2Q on the back of a stronger topline. For the 'rst six months of the year, though revenue grew by 38% to $193.9mil, overall net pro't fell 84.6% year'on' year to $44.5mil, the reason being that the previous corresponding 'rst half had included a fair value gain on investment properties of $249mil. It has declared an interim tax exempt dividend of 3 cents per share for the period and will be payable on Sept 13.

Keppel Corporation (S$11.30) 
Inks US$4.1b Brazilian rig order  
Keppel O'shore & Marine (Keppel O&M), a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Corp, has 'rmed up a US$4.1bil order for 've semisubmersible drilling rigs with a Brazilian company, lifting its year'to'date new orders to $7.2bil. Its net order book also rose in tandem to $12.7bil, close to the record level of $13bil achieved as at end'September 2008. Keppel said the transaction is not expected to have a material impact on its NTA or EPS for the current 'nancial year. Keppel O&M is to design and build the 've semis based on Keppel's DSS 38E design, an enhancement of its 'fth'generation DSS 38 design, to meet the stringent requirements of the deepwater Golden Triangle region of Brazil, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: The Business Times

Source: AmFraser