Stocks to watch: Olam, Indofood Agri, Hong Leong Finance, Banyan Tree, M1, IHH Healthcare, Jardine C&C

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Thursday:

Olam International: Commodity trader Olam posted a net profit of S$75.3 million for the fourth quarter, down 71.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier in the absence of an exceptional gain of S$155.4 million. Operational Patmi (profit after tax and minority interest) fell 34.4 per cent to S$72 million, as lower takings from the peanuts, coffee, rice and dairy businesses offset growth in cocoa, packaged foods and wood products. Olam shares last changed hands at S$2.01 on Wednesday before the results were released.

Indofood Agri Resources: Indofood Agri has recorded a net loss of 211.7 billion rupiah (S$20.4 million), sinking into the red from a net profit of 76.94 billion rupiah the year before. This was mainly due to the fall in sales and profit in its plantation division arising from weak commodity prices, partly offset by strong performance in edible oils and fats (EOF) division, the mainboard-listed company said. Loss per share (LPS) was at 151.7 rupiah per share, from earnings per share (EPS) of 55.1 rupiah the year before. Shares for the company closed at S$0.215 apiece on Wednesday.

Sitra Holdings: Sitra Holdings has acquired 54 per cent of Mapur Rocky Resort for S$3.51 million, to be paid through the allotment and issue of 319.1 million new ordinary shares of Sitra to Mapur's shareholders at the issue price of S$0.0.11 per share. The deal was done on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis, and new alloted shares make up 42.48 per cent of Sitra's existing share capital, and 25.98 per cent of the enlarged shares pool after the completion of the Mapur acquisition. The counter last traded at S$0.01 apiece on Feb 26.

Hong Leong Finance: Hong Leong Finance posted a net profit of S$118.3 million for the full year ended Dec 31, up 38.1 per cent from S$85.7 million a year ago, on the back of higher net interest income. Earnings per share rose to 26.56 Singapore cents, from 19.27 Singapore cents previously. A final dividend of 10 Singapore cents per share has been recommended by directors of the company, up from a final dividend of nine Singapore cents in the previous year. Shares in Hong Leong Finance closed flat at S$2.73 apiece on Wednesday.

Banyan Tree Holdings: Resort operator Banyan Tree Holdings' fourth-quarter net profit rose 44 per cent to S$5.6 million as better property sales and one-off disposal gains offset a weaker hotel segment, the company announced on Wednesday evening. Earnings per share rose to 0.67 Singapore cent for the three months ended Dec 31, 2018, from 0.49 cent a year ago. The company is declaring a final cash dividend of 1.05 Singapore cent per share for the year. Banyan Tree shares closed at 59.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday before the results were announced.

M1: Telco M1 has lost its free float and will be delisted after the close of the voluntary conditional general offer. Currently, Konnectivity - owned jointly by Keppel and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) - and its concert parties control 835.1 million shares or 90.15 per cent of the total number of shares of M1. Keppel and SPH said more acceptances had come following M1 long-term shareholder Axiata Group Bhd's acceptance of the joint offer of S$2.06 per share for its entire stake of 28.6 per cent. That means that less than 10 per cent of M1's shares are now held by the public. The counter last traded at S$2.05 apiece on Wednesday.

Plastoform Holdings: Audio-speaker maker Plastoform Holdings' board said on Wednesday it believes that the company will be able to operate as a going concern and is in discussions about fundraising options, including a rights issue exercise, to obtain additional funding for working capital needs. It added that the firm will also borrow money if needed. The company also said it believes its licence business with Monster Inc will possibly lead to more product types and brands to the market in the future. It noted that the company is in a negative equity position of HK$0.89 million (S$0.15 million) and has negative working capital of HK$1.35 million as at Dec 31, and has generated negative cash flow from operating activities of HK$1.87 million. The counter last traded at S$0.01 apiece on Feb 25.

Soilbuild Construction Group: Fourth-quarter net loss for Soilbuild Construction Group widened to S$4.1 million from a net loss of S$2.7 million in the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday. This was largely due to higher cost of sales for S$5.3 million incurred following the grant of arbitration award from an arbitration by its subsidiary against a sub-contractor. The amount goes to paying the sub-contractor, damages previously deemed receivable and interest, prolongation cost and legal fees. Soilbuild closed unchanged on Wednesday at S$0.101.

IHH Healthcare: Private hospital operator IHH Healthcare on Wednesday posted a fivefold jump in net profit for the fourth quarter to RM509 million (S$169 million) from RM101 million a year ago, led by stronger operational performance and boosted by foreign exchange gains from its Turkish hospital Acibadem's non-Lira borrowings. On the Singapore bourse, the counter finished at S$1.85, down two Singapore cents or 1.07 per cent.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage: Greater contributions from its more than 50 per cent stake in Indonesian conglomerate Astra International lifted results for Jardine Cycle & Carriage (Jardine C&C) in its full financial year. Underlying net profit rose 12 per cent to US$858 million from the year-ago period. For the 12 months ended Dec 31, revenue increased 9.5 per cent to US$18.99 billion from the year-ago period. Jardine C&C shares closed S$0.21 or 0.6 per cent higher at S$36.63 on Wednesday.