Wednesday, April 21, 2010

1Q 2010 results - CMT, CIT, WFC

CapitaMall Trust

CapitaMall Trust reported 1Q 10 distributable income of S$71.1 million, or about 2.23 cents per share. Actual amount available for distribution was S$80.6 million (approximately 2.54 cents per share) so assuming no retained income (100% distribution), we can expect an annualised DPU of about 10 cents.

Asset enhancement projects are underway (Raffles City basement extension, Jurong Entertainment Centre) which provide a form of organic growth without having to resort to further acquisitions. The incremental net property income expected from the JEC project (construction contract below budgeted amount) is S$16.1 million per annum, which could potentially increase annual DPU by as much as 0.5 cents, or 5% of DPU.

Cambridge Industrial Trust

CIT reported net property income of S$16.3 million, down q-o-q due to the divestment of 32 strata units at 48 Toh Guan East (Enterprise Hub). Distributable income was S$11.1 million, down from S$11.9 million in 4Q 09 and translates to DPU of 1.274 cents.

Long term debt (S$390.1 million, expiring Feb 2012) has been swapped to fixed from variable, which will probably result in higher interest expense over the subsequent quarters (and hence lower DPU). Gearing was at 42.6%, and the Managers have highlighted a preference to bring this down to around 38% by the end of the year. Longer term, target gearing is between 30-35%.

We continue to like CIT for its stable income, high occupancy rate and relatively long average lease term (approximately 4.4 years, with just 6.9% of rentals expiring before 2013). SGD assets which yield close to 10% are impossible to find at this juncture, but we are also mindful of the various risks which the REIT entails. The fiasco with AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT is particulary troubling, and cost us unnecessary money. Unfortunately, we do not have any viable alternatives at this juncture (CACHE Logistics Trust was interesting, but we prefer not to invest in IPOs), and will retain our rather large position in CIT for the steady source of quarterly income.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo reported net income of US$2.5 billion for 1Q 10, or EPS of US$0.45, ahead of the US$0.42 expected by the consensus. PTPP (Pre-tax Pre-provision profit) was US$9.3 billion for the quarter, an indication of the immense earning power of WFC. Tier 1 capital rose to 10%, considered a relatively healthy position while loss provisions rose slightly to US$25.1 billion, up from US$24.5 billion in the previous quarter. As an indication that banks are turning the corner, WFC's Chief Credit and Risk officer believes that quarterly provision expenses and credit losses have peaked, while non-performing assets which commonly lag credit losses are still expected to increase, but will peak before year end.

WFC managed a 4.27% net interest margin for the quarter (easily the highest among large US banks), translating to net interest income of US$11.3 billion. Much of this can be attributed to the strong (sticky) deposit base, where total interest-bearing deposits of US$632 billion cost the bank just 0.47% to borrow! The low cost (and also stable source) of borrowing is WFC's competitive edge, as opposed to short-term borrowings which are currently cheap, but can cause a bank's downfall should a crisis emerge and short-term financing dries up.





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