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Noble Group - By OCBC Bank
Stellar performance despite challenging landscape. Noble Group Ltd
(Noble) impressed with a stellar set of 3Q08 results. Net profit surged 145.3% YoY to US$148.8m despite a general softening in demand for commodities, proving its ability to scale new heights despite challenges. This was achieved on the back of a 66.3% YoY growth in revenue to US$9.4b. Excluding one-off gains, net profit would still have risen by 115.6% to US$130.8m.
BUY, S$2.33 fair value. OCBC have raised the FY08 earnings estimate by 18% following Noble's strong 3Q08 showing. Their valuation parameter,
however, has been trimmed to 10x (from 12x) to reflect the risk of a prolonged recession and credit crunch, which could hurt demand for commodities. This brings out a fair value estimate to S$2.33 (from S$2.53).
Maintain BUY.
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