Yahoo Finance 
Stocks In Focus (S’pore Economic Data, TEE Int’l, Valuetronics) – 23/05/13
Singapore 1Q13 GDP Up 0.2% Y-o-Y
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore’s economy grew 0.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013, reversing its initial flash estimate of a 0.6 percent contraction. Nonetheless, this was still slower than the preceding quarter’s 1.5 percent growth. The gross domestic product (GDP) figures fell short of economists’ expectations of a larger upgrade, with a median forecast of 1 percent year-on-year growth for the quarter. MTI said that GDP grew an annualised 1.8 percent quarter-on-quarter, a slight upgrade from the flash estimate of a 1.4 percent contraction, but still slower than the 3.3 percent growth in 4Q12. Manufacturing shrank more than earlier expected, contracting 6.8 percent, compared to the advance estimate of a 6.5 percent year-on-year decline. Both services and construction rose more than the advance estimates at 2.7 percent and 7.3 percent respectively.
Significance: MTI expects Singapore’s economy to improve gradually over the course of the year as externally-oriented sectors pick up with the recovery of external demand and have reiterated its full-year growth forecast of 1 to 3 percent barring any risks to the global outlook.
TEE International To Spin-Off Subsidiary And Raise At Least $57.5m
TEE Land (TEEL), a subsidiary of listed TEE International, is proposing an initial public offering (IPO) to list its business on the Mainboard of the Singapore Stock Exchange. TEE announced that 115 million new shares will be issued with potentially 20 to 30 percent made available to the public and could raise at least $57.5 million from the offer. TEEL will use about 42 percent of the proceeds to fund the company’s expansion both in Singapore and abroad. The funds will also be used to repay loans to banks as well as for general working capital. Presently, TEEL’s property portfolio is around $394.6 million with 75 percent of its projects residing in Singapore and the remainder spread across Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. TEEL’s directors believe the firm’s established track record, network and experienced management provide a competitive edge as it seeks to expand beyond the residential segment to commercial and industrial sectors and broaden its geographical presence in South-East Asia (SEA).
Significance: TEE’s listing of its property arm will enable the group to unlock value for its shareholders and its expansion plans in the SEA region will help to diversify its revenue base.
Valuetronics Records 39.6% Dip In Profits
For financial year ended 31 March, Valuetronics Holdings saw a dip of 39.6 percent in net profit to HK$78.7 million from HK$130.3 million a year ago. The decline was mainly attributed by the further loss incurred from discontinuing its licensing business amounting to HK$39.7 million continuing last year’s loss of HK$30 million; no further loss is expected to incur from its discontinued licensing business starting from FY14. At the same time, the group’s consumer electronics sector suffered a slowdown in demand where revenue fell 6.1 percent to HK$1.6 bllion for the year, contributing to a 3.4 percent fall in full-year revenue from HK$2.3 billion to HK$2.2 billion. Valuetronics has proposed a final cash dividend of HK$0.08 per share, which is significantly lower than the final dividend of HK$0.16 and a special dividend of HK$0.01 a share a year ago. However, this still translates into a payout ratio of approximately 36.5 percent maintaining its dividend payout trend since IPO in 2007.
Significance: Commenting on the outlook, Valuetronics expects operating conditions to stay challenging with price reduction requested by some of its major customers, prevailing market uncertainties in demand, as well as continuing cost escalations in China. It still maintains a healthy cashflow of HK$221.6 million with no bank borrowings.
More From Shares Investment:
