Stocks to watch: First Resources, Aspen, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, ThaiBev, ST Group Food, Olam

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Monday:

EB5: The palm oil producer on Monday posted a net profit of US$8.8 million for the first quarter ended March 31, down 60.5 per cent from US$22.2 million the year before. This came despite an increase in sales and reflects the impact of higher export taxes from the new export levy structure implemented in Indonesia since December 2020, First Resources said in a business update. Shares of First Resources closed at S$1.46 on Friday, down S$0.05 or 3.3 per cent.

1F3: Construction activities for some of the group's ongoing developments in Malaysia are expected to be "affected slightly" by Malaysia's latest movement control order from May 12 to June 7. In a business update on Monday morning, the group said it intends to launch four projects in H2 2021 to take advantage of available incentives by the Malaysian government. Shares of Aspen closed on Friday down 1.5 Singapore cents or 6.8 per cent at 20.5 cents.

J69U: Its chief financial officer Tay Hwee Pio will be stepping down with effect from July 24. A successor for Ms Tay is being selected. Units of the trust ended on Friday at S$2.29, down S$0.1 or 3 per cent.

Y92: The mainboard-listed company on Friday reported a second-quarter net profit of 5.93 billion baht (S$252.3 million), up 19.7 per cent from 4.95 billion baht the previous year, led by gains from the spirits and beer segments. The board has declared an interim dividend of 0.15 baht to be paid on June 11. But revenue fell due to a drop in sales in its spirits and non-alcoholic beverages and food segments. Shares of ThaiBev ended Friday at 67 Singapore cents, down 2.5 cents or 3.6 per cent.

DRX: The Australian group's joint venture partner Papparich Group Sdn Bhd (PGSB) was ordered to wind up by the High Court of Malaya on May 5. PGSB is not a subsidiary or an entity within the group. The group had earlier said the winding-up petition was not expected to have any impact on its business and operations. The counter last closed flat on Friday at S$0.13.

O32: The agri-business firm's wholly-owned subsidiary Olam Holdings BV has obtained a US$1 billion loan, which will be used to finance the acquisition of US spice maker Olde Thompson, which will build on its recent two acquisitions in the North American spices sector, the mainboard-listed firm said in a Friday update. The two-year committed loan facility is guaranteed by Olam. Shares of Olam last closed S$0.03 or 1.8 per cent lower at S$1.67 on Friday.

AZT: The group slid back into the black for the second quarter ended March 31, posting a net profit of HK$457,000 (S$78,363) compared with a net loss of HK$5 million the year before, helped by a boost in revenue after shipping 35 containers of fresh durians to a customer. Revenue came in at HK$41 million, about seven times its HK$5.7 million top line the previous year. The counter closed at 36.5 Singapore cents on Friday, down two cents or 5.2 per cent.

S85: The tourism attractions operator on Friday reported a first-quarter net loss of S$390,000, narrowing the net loss of S$3.4 million a year earlier as operations are allowed to resume at reduced capacities. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, revenue more than doubled to S$8.1 million from S$3.4 million over the same period last year. This is as all its attractions registered positive revenue growth in the absence of temporary closures and rides suspension that had affected performance last year. Shares of Straco traded flat on Friday at S$0.55.

XJB: The entertainment and content provider has appointed Lian Lee Lee, the wife of substantial shareholder and group adviser John Ho, as its deputy chief executive officer. Ms Lian was previously the executive director of GHY Culture & Media (Singapore) since November 2019, and events director of Bestin Entertainment before that. She acts independently and does not act under the direction, control or influence of any party including Mr Ho, said GHY. The counter closed at 66.5 Singapore cents on Friday, down 3.5 cents or 5 per cent.

C8R: The group is declaring an interim dividend of 0.35 Singapore cent per ordinary share, the first time since FY2008 that it is declaring an interim dividend, after it recorded strong gains from the recovery of China's economy amid the pandemic. It posted a net profit of 90.3 million yuan (S$18.5 million) for its first quarter ended March 31, more than 30 times that of its net profit of 2.9 million yuan the year before. Shares of Jiutian Chemical closed at 9.1 Singapore cents on Friday, down 0.7 cent or 7.1 per cent.

N2IU: The trust on Sunday said it is committed to providing the necessary rental and operating assistance to its retail tenants as Singapore tightens its Covid-19 measures till June 13. This builds on support packages it has implemented since the start of the pandemic, comprising more than S$70 million of rental rebates. The counter last closed on Friday at S$1.98, down S$0.05 or 2.5 per cent.