F&N Q3 Profit Up 28.6%, Boosted By Property Division

Source : The Business Times, August 11, 2007

APB reports 10.4% rise in profit to $30.6m

The booming property market helped to boost Fraser and Neave's (F&N) third-quarter net profit by 28.6 per cent to $97.1 million.

The year-on-year rise in profit attributable to shareholders came as revenue rose 41.4 per cent to hit $1.3 billion for the three months ended June 30.

Before exceptional items, net profit attributable to shareholders rose 27.1 per cent to $96.5 million.

Profit before interest, taxation and exceptional items (PBIT) rose 25.9 per cent to $186.4 million.

Earnings per share for the third quarter rose to seven cents from 6.4.

F&N said its Q3 earnings and revenue were underpinned by revenue growth across all its core businesses, in particular its property and food & beverage divisions.

For the first nine months, net profit attributable to shareholders rose 35.7 per cent to $280.7 million. Before exceptionals, it rose 38.1 per cent to $278.1 million.

Said Han Cheng Fong, F&N's group CEO: 'Our properties division continued to benefit from higher-than-expected development profits and higher rental rates achieved from new and renewed leases. Likewise, our food & beverage division maintained its strong growth momentum while our publishing and printing division showed good progress and is on track to returning to historic growth rates and levels of profitability.'

Related links:-

Fraser and Neave's press release
http://tinyurl.com/25s3ww

FRASER AND NEAVE, LIMITED Financial statements
http://tinyurl.com/2e2rqv

APB's press release
http://tinyurl.com/27m9uw

ASIA PACIFIC BREWERIES LIMITED Financial statements
http://tinyurl.com/ynwzj9

Other corporate results reported on Aug 10
http://tinyurl.com/yto79w

Consolidated corporate results table
http://tinyurl.com/237ges

Revenue from overseas projects as well as new projects such as One St Michael's boosted revenue and PBIT from development property in Q3 to $412.8 million and $85.3 million respectively.

This represents increases of 41 per cent and 61 per cent respectively from Q3 2006.

PBIT from its commercial property division (comprising investment property and Frasers Centrepoint Trust) rose from $32.8 million a year ago to $34.9 million in Q3 this year.

Meanwhile, F&N's subsidiary Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) reported a 10.4 per cent increase in net profit attributable to shareholders to $30.6 million in Q3. Excluding exceptional items, it rose 3.9 per cent to $31.8 million.

This was on the back of a 22 per cent increase in revenue to $431.6 million.

Due to translation difference, gestation losses and non-recurring items, PBIT declined by 5.9 per cent to $61.3 million.

The non-recurring items include a one-time royalty adjustment in Vietnam in Q3 2006 which improved PBIT by $17.1 million then. Another item was a reinvestment credit in Q3 this year which added $4 million to Q3 2007's PBIT.

Said Koh Poh Tiong, chief executive of APB: 'This dilution in earnings was not unexpected and partly due to the gestation losses from our recent investments and new start-up breweries.'

He added that considering the potential of its regional investments, APB's earnings rates are expected to improve, as was the case with its first phase of regionalisation which began over a decade ago.

'Fundamentally, our business remains sound and we have continued to deliver stronger organic growth rates, driven mainly by our overseas operations,' said Mr Koh.