Ezion Reports 20Th Consecutive Growth Quarter
Ezion Holdings, a provider of multi-purpose self-propelled jack-up rigs, service rigs and offshore logistics support services has on 9 May 2012 reported a 20th consecutive quarter of growth. In its 1Q12 earnings report card, Ezion achieved a 42.3 percent growth in revenue as it reaped dividends from the deployment of an additional unit of Liftboat in the Java Sea and vessels in Australia in support of the Gorgon LNG development project in Australia. In addition, Ezion’s joint venture rig in the North Sea had provided an additional boost to its bottom line as shares of results from joint ventures increase 38 percent to US$3.7 million. Earnings, however, dipped 37.4 percent in the absence of a gain from the sale of a Liftboat. Removing that gain from 1Q11’s profits, 1Q12 earnings would have increased 23.2 percent. Chew Thiam Keng, chief executive officer opined that with the successful deployment of Ezion’s first Liftboat in Southeast Asia, there is anticipation of robust demand for platform maintenance and well servicing in the region.
Significance: With the recent private placement of 110 million new shares, Ezion has bolstered its balance sheet. With the additional cash, the firm hopes to meet robust market demand for long term growth.
Perennial China Trust Meets Its Own 1Q12 Forecast
The manager of Perennial China Retail Trust (PCRT) announced on 9 May 2012 that its distributable income for 1Q12 amounted to $10.6 million while the available distribution per unit (DPU) stood at $0.0094. PCRT had forecast a $0.0386 DPU for FY12. PCRT’s manager said that the DPU for 1Q12 will be paid together with the DPU for 2Q12 on or before September 2012. The manager also said that PCRT had secured Yonghui Superstore and Guangzhou Jinyi Media as the supermarket and Cineplex anchor tenants for its Foshan Yicui Shijia shopping mall and Chengdu Qingyang Guanghua shopping mall. Both malls are currently under development and PCRT’s manager mentioned that confirmed rental rates were higher than previous targets. The anchor tenants are slated to take up more than 20 percent of net lettable area at each mall. Foshan Yicui and Chengdu Qingyang are expected to commence operations in 1Q13 and 2Q14 respectively.
Significance: PCRT’s portfolio has been enlarged since its listing in FY11. It currently has a strong pipeline of projects which include options to invest in prime development sites in various provinces in China.
SingTel Acquires Second Silicon Valley Startup
SingTel, through its newly acquired Amobee unit, said on 8 May 2012 that it had acquired AdJitsu for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition follows the purchase of Amobee in March 2012 for US$321 million. AdJitsu provides tools to make three-dimensional animated advertisements in mobile applications for iPhone and iPads. Soujanya Bhumkar, chief executive of Cooliris, the previous holding company of AdJitsu remarked that mobile advertising is currently seeing a lot of activity with advertising networks and media content providers jostling to gain a foothold. In less than one year, AdJitsu has secured major clients such as carmaker, BMW and mobile handset maker, Nokia. Bhumkar added that AdJitsu has been receiving a lot of interest from both advertisers and advertisement networks, and is growing at a rapid pace.
Significance: With a second acquisition in as many months, SingTel is hoping to leverage on the rapid growth in the mobile advertisement industry. Separately, SingTel announced that it had posted another quarter of strong growth in customer acquisition, signaling the possibility of a good FY12 earnings report card.
