Stocks to watch: Far East Orchard, Sheng Siong, Keppel, SembMarine

THESE companies made announcements that may influence trading on Friday.

Far East Orchard: The mainboard-listed property firm's hospitality arm, Far East Hospitality, unveiled plans on Thursday to grow its Oasia brand next year with the opening of three more hotels and serviced residences in Singapore and Malaysia. These will add over 700 rooms to its growing portfolio. It said it would open the 247-unit Oasia Suites Kuala Lumpur in the first quarter of 2016, followed by the 314-room Oasia Hotel Downtown in Singapore's Peak Seah Street in the second quarter and then the 140-unit Oasia Residence in Singapore's West Coast in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Sheng Siong Group: The supermarket operator on Thursday posted an 18.7 per cent growth in net profit for its third quarter on the back of new-store sales and higher operating margins. But same-store sales were lacklustre, which the group put down partly to a weak Malaysian ringgit for its Woodlands store and nearby renovation works for its Loyang store.

Keppel Corp: The conglomerate's third-quarter net profit fell 12.4 per cent to S$362.9 million year-on-year amid a challenging global environment for the offshore industry. Keppel flagged depletion in its offshore and marine net order book, which shrank to S$10 billion as at Sept 30, 2015, from S$12.5 billion nine months earlier. But management expects possible upside from floating liquefied natural gas conversion, having started talks with Golar LNG over a fourth such unit for delivery in 2019.

Sembcorp Marine: Rigbuilder Sembcorp Marine posted a 17 per cent year-on-year decline in group revenue from S$4.4 billion to S$3.6 billion for the nine months to September, on lower revenue recognition for rig-building projects and ship repair under an environment of low oil prices and oversupply in the global offshore exploration segment. Turnover for rigs and floaters was S$2.5 billion, a 21 per cent year-on-year decline, with deliveries halved to three rigs for the nine months to September 2015.