Wednesday, May 20, 2009

SATS bonanza for SIA shareholders

Singapore Airlines is divesting its 81 per cent stake in listed airport and ground services subsidiary Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS). SIA shareholders will receive up to 730 SATS shares for every 1,000 SIA shares held. 'Distributing shares through an in specie dividend will unlock shareholder value by giving SIA shareholders direct ownership of SATS at no cost to them,' the airline said in a statement. 'The proposed distribution will allow Singapore Airlines to concentrate on its airline and aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses.'

Based on that day's prices, each SIA share will get the holder $1.13 worth of SATS stock. The airline is also paying a total dividend of 40 cents per share for the year - compared to $1 last year. This means that while shareholders get a bigger potential payout this year, SIA ends up paying less cash. SIA added that the proposed distribution - which has to be approved by shareholders, including parent Temasek Holdings, at an EGM - would not have any impact on its financial position. The divestment will see SIA and SATS becoming sister companies under a single parent - Temasek Holdings, which currently owns about 55 per cent of SIA.

Besides announcing the divestment, SIA also announced yesterday that it made a net profit of $42 million in its January-March fourth quarter, down from the $486 million it made in the same period last year. This was thanks to a $138 million deferred tax write-back, and contributions from its subsidiaries SATS and SIA Engineering. At the operating level, SIA was in the red to the tune of $28 million as it incurred a fuel hedging loss of $543 million. The airline is hedged at an average of some US$112 per barrel versus the US$65 pbl spot fuel price. Still, SIA's fuel bill fell some $666 million during the quarter. Topline revenue fell 19.1 per cent or a whopping $786 million to $3,321 million during the final quarter, as the decline in passenger and cargo carriage accelerated in the fourth quarter. For the full year ended March 31, SIA posted net earnings of $1.062 billion, some 48 per cent or $988 million down from the previous year's $2.049 billion.

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