SATS Ltd

Kim Eng on 14 June 2012

Tourism boom in Singapore. Recent visitor statistics have shown an encouraging uptrend despite the volatile economic situation stemming from the European debt crisis. Tourists have not only continued to make Singapore one of their preferred destinations (2011 visitor arrivals +13% YoY), but also increased their spending, leading to an 18% YoY growth in tourist receipts to SGD22.3b for 2011. Together, these figures support the notion of a sustainable tourism boom that Singapore is currently experiencing and which SATS is well-placed to benefit from.

Aviation passengers dominate growth. The aviation visitor segment has shown standout growth of 15% YoY to breach the 10m visitor mark for 2011, backed by the proliferation of budget airline flights to-and-from Singapore. SATS’ key market segment remains the aviation-related space (84% of FY3/12 revenue), and with the Singapore Tourism Board forecasting a further 10% increase in visitor arrivals for 2012, the outlook remains rosy for the company.

Cruise terminal in infancy but a good complement. SATS’ JV with Creuers (SATS-Creuers) to operate Singapore’s newest Marina Bay Cruise Centre welcomed its first vessel on 26 May 2012. While we believe that significant earnings contributions will only accrue to SATS in the medium term, we remain positive that this foray into the cruise terminal operating business will only serve to widen its expansion capabilities within the gateway services space.

Maintain BUY, don’t miss the bumper dividend. Though mindful of the risks ahead for SATS, our optimism continues to be buoyed by its resilient earnings, healthy balance sheet and attractive dividend yields. We maintain our BUY recommendation and target price of SGD3.04, based on 17x FY3/13F earnings. Investors buying in now stand to enjoy the bumper dividend of SGD0.21 per share, which goes ex-dividend on 31 July.