Daily news - 13 May

Noble to raise $125m from share placement
Commodities trader Noble Group is raising net proceeds of about $125.5 million by placing out 84.7 million new shares at $1.52 each. The price represents a discount of about 2.5 per cent to the weighted average trading price from Monday up to the time at which the placement agreement was inked, it said yesterday.

UOL gets big boost from negative goodwill
UOL Group posted a more than seven-fold year-on- year rise in first-quarter net profit to 331.8 million - from $42.85 million a year ago - largely due to gains of $277.7 million from negative goodwill recognition relating to the acquisition of United Industrial Corporation (UIC) shares. For the three months ended March 31, the group's operating profit rose 18 percent year-on-year to $70.8 million on the back of a 22 per cent increase in revenue to $196.7 million.

Yanlord's Q1 earnings more than double
Helped by higher selling prices for the company's high-end projects, Yanlord Land Group's net profit more than doubled to $24.27 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 from $9.31 million for the previous corresponding quarter. Its average selling price (ASP) rose 44.4 per cent year on year to 24,968 yuan (S$5,341) per square metre. The higher ASP was mainly driven by higher-margin projects, particularly Yanlord Riverside City Phase 2 and 3 in Shanghai, which accounted for 80 per cent of its gross revenue.

Source: Kim Eng