Noble jumps on strong Q4 result

Stock Name: Noble Grp
Company Name: NOBLE GROUP LIMITED
Research House: OCBC

Shares of Singapore-listed commodities firm Noble Group (NOBG.SI) rose as much as 4.9% on Tuesday after it said its fourth-quarter net profit rose 192% year-on-year to US$247.4 million ($314.1 million).

The firm reported record net profit of US$606 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2010, compared with US$556 million a year earlier, helped by broad-based growth at its commodity segments.

At 9:15 a.m., Noble shares were up 4.4% at $2.14 on a volume of 9.1 million shares.

OCBC Investment Research, which maintained its buy rating but raised its target price on Noble to $2.92 from $2.59, said the firm’s earnings exceeded its expectations.

“Noble’s robust 4Q10 performance was driven by broad-based revenue and volume growth across all bulk commodity segments as the group’s recent investments have started to contribute meaningfully,” OCBC said in a report.

The brokerage added that it expects Noble’s earnings growth momentum to gather pace in 2011 on the back of increasing contributions from the firm’s investments and the global economic recovery.