Singapore: Fraser & Neave Q2 profit up 11.4 pct

Fraser & Neave, a Singapore conglomerate that brews Tiger beer, owns shopping malls and prints magazines, posted an 11.4 percent rise in quarterly profit on May 11, boosted by property operations, Reuters communicated.

The group said it earned S$62.8 million ($40 million) in net profit in its fiscal second quarter that ended in March, compared to a restated S$56.3 million a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter rose 17 percent to S$1.02 billion, compared to S$874.8 million for the corresponding period in the previous year.

F&N said profit from its property development business almost doubled to S$37.8 million, thanks to the sale of completed projects as well as the launch of new ones in Singapore and Bangkok.

The company, which has a market capitalisation of about US$3.3 billion, said last November that profits would rise in the 2005/2006 financial year but warned that it would face higher material and packaging costs in its food and beverage business.

Fraser & Neave and Dutch brewer Heineken jointly own Tiger beer maker Asia Pacific Breweries, holding 38 percent and 42.5 percent respectively.

Shares in F&N, which was founded as a printing business by Scotsmen John Fraser and David Neave in Singapore in 1883, have risen more than 15 percent this year.

The stock traded at almost 17 times forecast earnings, on a par with Taiwanese snack maker Want Want Holdings , Reuters data shows. ($1=1.562 Singapore Dollar)

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