Tuesday 20 November 2012

Singtel

OCBC on 14 Nov 2012

SingTel reported 2QFY13 results that were mostly in line with our expectations (though it missed the street’s forecast). It also declared an interim dividend of S$0.068/share, unchanged from last year. But the biggest surprise was the downgrade of its guidance for consolidated revenue to decline by single-digit versus growth previously; this likely weighed by weaker-than-expected performance in Australia due to increased competition. Taking this into account, as well as the latest market value of its regional associates, our SOTP-based fair value eases from S$3.61 to S$3.53. But we maintain our BUY rating as there is still an upside of >10% from here; we could also see a potential margin recovery on faster-than-expected take-up of LTE services in 2013. 
 
2Q13 results mostly in line
SingTel reported its 2QFY13 revenue easing 0.8% YoY (but +0.9% QoQ) to S$4572.0m, underpinned by strong operating performance from Singapore and its regional mobile associates despite the impact of weaker regional currencies. Reported net profit fell 1.6% YoY and 8.2% QoQ to S$867.7m, while underlying net profit rose 0.1% YoY and 4.2% QoQ to S$886.0m. 1H13 revenue fell 1.2% to S$9105.0m, meeting 48% of our FY13 forecast, while core earnings eased 1.3% to S$1736.0m, or 45% of estimate. SingTel has also declared an interim dividend of S$0.068/share, or a payout of 62% of underlying earnings. 

Guiding for revenue decline in FY13
Going forward, SingTel now expects consolidated revenue to see single-digit decline (versus growth previously), with EBITDA remaining stable. Citing increased competition in Australia, SingTel is also guiding for Australia’s revenue to decline by mid single-digit this FY, versus single-digit growth previously, although management still expects EBITDA to remain stable. Other deteriorations in outlook include guiding for Group Consumer and Group Mobile revenues to decline by mid-single digit level (versus low single-digit growth previously). Nevertheless, it has kept its free cashflow guidance to remain around S$2.6b; capex for Singapore to be around S$950m and Australia around A$1.1b. Lastly, it continues to expect ordinary dividends from its regional mobile associates to grow.

Easing fair value to S$3.53
In light of the latest guidance, we also pare our FY12 estimates for revenue by 1.9% and core earnings by 2% (FY13 by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively). We have also adjusted the market value of its associates and this drops our SOTP-based fair value from S$3.61 to S$3.53. But given that there is still an upside of >10% from here, and also a potential margin recovery on the faster-than-expected adoption of LTE services, we maintain our BUY

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