Singapore: Fraser & Neave 2004/2005 profit up 2.6 pct

Fraser & Neave, a Singapore conglomerate that brews beer, owns shopping malls and prints magazines, posted on Friday, November 11 a 2.6 percent rise in full year net profit to S$299.5 million ($176.3 million), according to Reuters.

The group, which co-owns Singapore's most popular beer brand Tiger, said profits would rise in its next financial year but warned that its business faced higher costs.

Shares in the firm, founded as a printing business by Scotsmen John Fraser and David Neave in Singapore in 1883, have risen 4.3 percent since the start of the year, valuing the group at around $2.4 billion.

F&N shares trade at 15.4 times forecast 2005 earnings, slighty more expensive than Taiwanese snack maker Want Want Holdings , which is valued at 13.6 times, Reuters data shows.

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