Stocks to watch: Novo Group, Suntec Reit, Del Monte Pacific, XMH Holdings

CHINESE steel company Novo Group's losses for the fourth quarter ended April 2015 widened to US$11.32 million from US$6.52 million in the year-ago period as it slashed selling prices of its internationally traded and mainland tinplate manufacturing products to below cost. This was in a bid to clear out inventories and maintain market share overseas and in China.

Revenue for the same period plunged 69.9 per cent to US$22.27 million, from US$74.04 million, on the back of challenging market conditions.

For the full year ended April 2015, Novo's net losses deepened to US$20.58 million from US$13.27 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Over the same period, revenue slumped 8.8 per cent to US$248.98 million from US$273 million.

Loss per share for the quarter was 6.62 US cents while net asset value per share was 10.62 US cents. No dividends were declared for the quarter.

Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec Reit) is selling Park Mall to Park Mall Pte Ltd for S$411.8 million, said ARA Trust Management (Suntec), the manager of Suntec Reit, on Monday.

The Reit acquired Park Mall, which is an integrated office, lifestyle and home furnishing mall situated within the Orchard Road shopping belt, in 2005 for S$245.1 million. The property is more than 40 years old, with a remaining land lease tenure of 53 years.

Yeo See Kiat, chief executive officer of the manager, said that part of the sale proceeds may be used to "mitigate the dip in DPU (distribution per unit) arising from the divestment". In conjunction with the divestment, Park Mall Investment Limited - a joint venture company in which Suntec Reit has a 30 per cent interest and which owns 100 per cent of Park Mall Pte Ltd - has been set up to redevelop Park Mall into a commercial development comprising two office blocks with an ancillary retail component.

Del Monte Pacific (DMPL) posted a net loss of US$14.1 million for the fourth quarter ended April, narrowing its losses from US$38.7 million a year ago. This included non-recurring expenses amounting to US$8.9 million.

Its revenue for the quarter rose 45.1 per cent, from US$364 million to US$528.2 million.

For the full year ended April, the group posted a net loss of US$38 million, from US$32.2 million a year ago. Revenue almost tripled, from US$743.3 million to US$2.2 billion.

DMPL acquired US-based Del Monte Foods, Inc (DMFI) on Feb 18 and aligned its financial year with that of DMFI. The group had previously noted that the acquisition would impact its bottom line.

XMH Holdings posted a net profit of S$611,000 in the fourth quarter, reversing a net loss of S$1.7 million a year ago. Its revenue for the quarter was S$23.4 million, down 0.7 per cent compared to a year ago.

For the full year ended April, the company posted a net profit of S$5.4 million, a drop of 11.4 per cent compared to a year ago. Its revenue dropped 13 per cent, from S$105.2 million to S$91.5 million primarily due to the decrease from both the distribution and after sales business segments by approximately S$29.7 million. This was offset by the increase of approximately S$16.1 million from the projects segment.

For FY2015, the group has proposed a final dividend of 0.8 Singapore cent per share. The dividend amount equates to a dividend payout of approximately 67.8 per cent.

The group expects to move into its new seven-storey facility in Tuas in the last quarter of 2015. This will provide it with the ability to accommodate all its subsidiaries and production lines and increase general warehousing capacities.