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Could anybody inform me when is the pay date for F&N divident?
Thanks.
Oh...
..I gonna check this out but my hardcopy reports are all at my MIL's house. The online version is not on SGX website. OK, will c what can be done. Must double check this.
Thanks alot, SupremeA.
F&N seems to have major cash flow issues. It has $2.4bn worth of loans to be paid off this year and it seems that it has been having problems getting cash. Last year's cash flow statement showed an operating cash outflow of $1 bn and they needed Temasek's share placement to stay in the blue.
With the credit crunch this year won't F&N be hit even harder?
What's happening at F&N?? It's juz acquired a web-based e-learning courseware.
Read the SGX announcement (I've been having pro, cannot cut-paste here).
Report from KE.
F&N is more of a property company these days. One of Singapore's oldest publicly-owned blue chips, F&N has gone through many transformations in the past 125 years. In the present cycle, property is the biggest profit contributor at 61% of group PBIT. The original core soft drinks business accounted for only 6%, although F&B (including beer and dairies) as a whole is still substantial at 32%.
There may be the perception that F&B has been ignored for too long, which carries the risk that the brand could lose its historical link with the company. With the CEO's exit in 10/07, a new Chairman and Temasek Holdings as a shareholder, the market expects F&N to refocus on F&B, and perhaps restructure the property business so that it does not loom so large in its earnings mix or even exit it altogether. Thus far, F&N has denied that it intends to split its various businesses. We suggest 2 possibilities. Either sell the property assets to another player or create separately listed entities via an in-specie rights offering to F&N's minority shareholders. For the first option, CapitaLand or Far East as buyers comes to mind. Interestingly, Far East also owns an F&B business under YHS. A business swap could be workable. For the second, an in-specie rights offering could allow minority shareholders to choose their desired exposure to each business for their investment portfolios.
Speculation that Heineken may launch a hostile takeover for APB or even try to take over F&N is unlikely, in our opinion. First, F&N is involved in non-beer businesses that Heineken will not be interested in, and Temasek's deep pockets is a red light. Second, Heineken seems to have made up with APB and moved on. For example, after years of importing Heineken into China, the two are now working together in China.
We initiate coverage of F&N with a BUY recommendation and target price of $6.00, which is equal to group RNAV. We applied zero discount for the development property surplus as we believe F&N will be able to hold prices stable. At $4.72, F&N trades at 15.5x FY08F and 12.1x FY09F EPS.
BT 6 Oct 07
Chairman to oversee management till successor is found
By CONRAD RAJ
That is because the blue chip company's chief executive Han Cheng Fong is leaving his post with immediate effect, following disagreements with the board.
(SINGAPORE) When Lee Hsien Yang takes over as chairman and non-executive director of Fraser & Neave on Oct 15, he will find himself playing a more hands-on role than he may earlier have anticipated.
No successor has been named but F&N said that pending the appointment of a new chief executive, the board's chairman 'will oversee management of the group'. As things stand, current chairman Michael Fam himself is stepping down just over a week from now to make way for Mr Lee, the former SingTel CEO.
The latest developments unfolded after several days of rumour and speculation over Dr Han's position. He had joined the group seven years ago but was appointed its chief executive only in February last year.
Of late, there had been talk of his disagreements with some members of the board - a point tacitly acknowledged in the statement made by the company to the Singapore Exchange.
'The resignation of Dr Han as a director and the amicable cessation of Dr Han's employment arises from differences of opinion with the board which are unconnected with the financial position or performance of the company or its subsidiaries,' said the statement.
Word in corporate circles is that serious differences have arisen over the past two or three months between the board led by Dr Fam, 79, and the 65-year-old Dr Han who was chief executive of DBS Land until it was taken over by what is now CapitaLand. Before that, Dr Han was permanent secretary to the Ministry of Labour.
The disagreements were so bitter that there was even talk that the two might end up in court. But whatever the differences, both sides stressed that they had little to do with the performance of the company.
In fact, Dr Han painted a rosy picture of the company's future. In a statement of his own, he said: 'As the third-quarter results indicate, we are going to end this year with sterling quality performance. From projects secured to-date in China, Singapore, Australia and the UK, good performances from the beer and soft drinks and beverage businesses, I am confident the next five years promise strong double-digit growth and F&N is likely to achieve a doubling of this year's bottom line performance by the end of the fifth year.'
The booming property market helped to boost F&N's third-quarter net profit by 28 per cent to $97.1 million while net earnings for the first nine months - till end-June - rose 36 per cent to $280.7 million.
For FY2006, the group reported record net earnings before exceptional items of $295.4 million.
Observers pointed out that Dr Fam and Dr Han were full of praise for each other in the 2006 annual report.
In it, Dr Fam said: 'I would like to commend the management and staff, under the strong leadership of Dr Han Cheng Fong, for delivering another set of record profits.'
In turn, Dr Han had said: 'When Dr Fam was appointed as chairman in 1983, F&N's profit was $30 million. By the time I succeeded him as the group CEO in FY05, profits had grown almost tenfold to $271 million. The quantum leap in F&N's profitability was the product of (the) strategies which he pursued.'
Yesterday, the farewell was less effusive. Dr Han indicated in his statement that he had been thinking of moving on for some time.
'Yes, I have been in discussion with several organisations in the last few months and it is likely I will make up my mind on what my future will be after a break in Europe,' he said.
Trading in F&N shares, which were suspended 30 cents up at $5.95 at 11.45 am yesterday pending the announcement, will resume on Monday.
Apart from receiving what could be a sizeable severance package, Dr Han has options for 4.18 million F&N shares and 3.24 million Frasers Property (China) shares which closed at $1.52 yesterday.
Follow standard procedure... SOP, remember from your Army dayz?
Ok, confirmed and announced. LEE Hsien Yang as Non-Executive Director and Chairman-Designate.
Don't feel the value $$$$$....errrr not up to market par !!!! I think it will hold this range or drop futher...
really not up to par...
CIMB-GK Research
Former Singapore Telecommunications chief executive, Lee Hsien Yang, is expected to take over the chairmanship of Fraser & Neave (F&N), the conglomerate with interests in food and beverage, property and publishing. While his new position is not an executive one, Mr Lee is expected to play a key role in shaping the local conglomerate's future expansion plans. Given Singapore's size, F&N - especially its beer and property subsidiaries - have been expanding aggressively elsewhere over the past few years. Just over half of the group's revenue came from overseas in 1992. In contrast, the latest results for the first half of financial 2007, almost two-thirds of F&N's total revenue of $2.19 billion was from its international operations and sales. In December last year, Temasek Holdings took a 14.9% stake in F&N for $900 million in cash.