Stocks to watch: OCBC, Sembcorp Industries, Q&M Dental, Cromwell, Singtel

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (Feb 23):

OCBC: O39 The bank on Wednesday posted a 14 per cent decrease in net profit for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 to S$973 million, from S$1.13 billion a year ago. It also declared a final dividend of 28 Singapore cents per share for the period, bringing the total dividend for FY2021 back to pre-pandemic levels at 53 cents. Shares of OCBC closed at S$13.16 on Tuesday, down S$0.19 or 1.4 per cent.

Sembcorp Industries: U96 The energy and urban development company posted a net profit of S$233 million for the second half of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021. This comes as turnover from continuing operations increased by 59 per cent year on year to S$4.5 billion, the group announced on Wednesday. Shares of Sembcorp Industries closed at S$2.510, down 0.8 per cent or S$0.02, on Tuesday.

Q&M Dental Group: QC7 The dental service company's earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 fell 47 per cent on-year to S$3.2 million even as revenue grew 22 per cent, it announced on Wednesday. It has declared a fourth quarter interim dividend of S$0.01, bringing total dividends for the full year to S$0.04. Shares of Q&M Dental ended Tuesday down S$0.01 or 1.7 per cent at S$0.57.

Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (Cromwell E-Reit): CWBU The Reit on Wednesday posted a distribution per unit of 0.08459 euro (S$0.12) for the 6 months ended Dec 31, 2021, 2.8 per cent lower than the 0.08703 euro recorded in the year-ago period. Units of Cromwell E-Reit closed 1.7 per cent or S$0.04 lower at S$2.34 on Tuesday.

Singtel: Z74 The mainboard-listed telecommunications company on Wednesday announced plans to jointly redevelop its Comcentre headquarters with a developer, which has not yet been appointed. The estimated cost of the development including land costs is more than S$2 billion, and Singtel then plans to divest the building to a joint venture company formed with the appointed developer. Shares of Singtel closed at S$2.56, down 0.8 per cent or S$0.02, on Tuesday.

Wilmar International: F34 The agribusines giant on Tuesday reported a net profit of US$1.1 billion for the second half of the fiscal year ended December 2021, up 23.4 per cent from US$923.6 million in the corresponding year-ago period. A final dividend of S$0.105 has been proposed, bringing the total dividend for the year to S$0.155, the highest cash dividend paid out by the group since its listing. Shares of Wilmar closed down 1.3 per cent or S$0.06 to S$4.62 on Tuesday before the results were released.

Riverstone Financials: AP4 The Malaysian glove maker posted on Tuesday a net profit of RM1.4 billion (S$449.9 million) for the full year ended Dec 31, 2021, up 119.1 per cent from RM647.3 million in the year before. Earnings per share for FY2021 stood at 95.66 sen compared with 43.67 sen in FY2020. Shares of Riverstone closed down 3.3 per cent or S$0.025 to S$0.735 on Tuesday before the announcement.

Aoxin Q&M: 1D4 The Catalist-listed company on Wednesday posted a net loss of 1.2 million yuan (S$255,177) for its second half ended Dec 31, 2021, narrowing from 1.6 million yuan a year ago. Revenue for H2 fell 6.9 per cent on-year to 77.9 million yuan, mainly due to a decrease in revenue from the distribution of dental equipment and from its supplies segment. Shares of Aoxin Q&M closed up S$0.005 or 2.3 per cent at S$0.22 on Tuesday.

Trading halt: Catalist-listed Matex International M15 has called for a trading halt on Wednesday morning, pending the release of an announcement. Shares last traded flat at S$0.026 on Tuesday.

Property developer and investor Ho Bee Land H13 also called for a trading halt on Wednesday morning, pending the release of an announcement. Shares of Ho Bee Land closed down 1.8 per cent or S$0.05 at S$2.80 on Tuesday.