lauretta scarlatti: STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index flat; DBS falls after Q4 earnings

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Singapore shares were little changed, with DBS Group

Holdings Ltd underperforming the market after the

bank's fourth-quarter earnings missed expectations due to weak

margins.

The Strait Times Index was flat, while the MSCI's

broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

rose 0.3 percent.

DBS shares fell as much as 2.2 percent to their lowest in

nearly a week. DBS posted a net profit of S$760 million ($613.5

million) for October-December against a net profit of S$731

million a year earlier. This missed an average forecast of S$810

million, according to six analysts surveyed by Reuters.

Shares of SIA Engineering Co Ltd dipped as much as

3.6 percent to a two-week low after it reported

weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Some 778,000 shares

were traded, 2.2 times the average full-day volume over the past

30 days.

CIMB Research said the company's third-quarter net profit

was 10 percent below its forecast and 6 percent below consensus

due to lower fleet and project revenue.

"This is the time to book some profits off SIA Engineering

on unexciting 3Q13 results and 33 percent share price

outperformance since January 2012. We believe capacity growth in

Changi Airport and high hangar utilisation from airframe

maintenance have been factored in," CIMB said.

CIMB said SIA Engineering's valuation was "stretched" at a

price-earnings ratio of 18 times for 2013, near its peak of 19

times. But CIMB maintained its 'neutral' rating on the stock,

citing the dividend yield of 4.5 percent.

1242 (0442 GMT)

lauretta scarlatti