Stocks to watch: StarHub, F&N, Sembcorp, SingPost, Riverstone

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

StarHub CC3: The telco on Thursday reported a double-digit decline in first-half earnings, attributed to lower wage subsidies, lower market prices and "no normalisation from Covid in terms of a return of roaming or prepaid" revenue, against the year-ago period. Net profit shrank by 12.3 per cent to S$67.9 million for the six months to June 30. StarHub shares closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$1.24, before the announcement.

Fraser and Neave F99 (F&N): The beverage and publishing company on Thursday posted a net profit of S$119.1 million in the nine months ended June 30, up 1 per cent from the year before on higher beverage and dairy sales. F&N shares fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.43, before the announcement.

Sembcorp Industries U96: The mainboard-listed energy and urban solutions provider has swung back into the black with a S$46 million net profit for the first half ended June 30, from a net loss of S$131 million in the year-ago period. This came as turnover rose 26 per cent to S$3.29 billion on the back of contributions from Sembcorp's conventional energy segment. Sembcorp's shares closed at S$2.03 on Thursday, down S$0.03 or 1.5 per cent.

Singapore Post S08 (SingPost): The national postal service announced a 2 per cent fall in earnings to S$21 million for its fiscal first quarter from a year ago, due to declines in the international post and parcel business, the company said on Friday, although profits were up in its logistics and property segments. Shares of SingPost closed at 63 Singapore cents on Thursday, down 0.5 cent or 0.8 per cent.

Riverstone Holdings AP4: The Malaysian glove maker posted a net profit of RM1.04 billion (S$333.1 million) for its first half ended June 30, 2021, nearly eight times the RM137.5 million for the same period in the previous year, driven by a surge in demand for the group's healthcare examination and high-tech clean-room gloves, the group said in a bourse filing on Thursday. Shares of Riverstone closed flat at S$1.21 on Thursday, before the announcement.

Hong Leong Finance S41: The finance company on Thursday posted a net profit of S$44.7 million for the first-half, up 22.4 per cent from the same period a year earlier, thanks to a stepped-up effort in managing the cost of funds and lower loan loss allowances. The counter closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.02 higher at S$2.48, before the results were announced.

Roxy-Pacific Holdings E8Z: The property and hospitality group on Thursday posted a first-half net profit of S$5.9 million, double the S$2.8 million for the same period a year earlier. The growth was mainly due to a higher percentage of revenue recognition from development projects in Singapore. Roxy-Pacific shares closed up 1.5 Singapore cents or 3.7 per cent to close at 42.5 cents, before the announcement.

Excelpoint Technology BDF: The company's net profit more than quadrupled to US$12 million for the half-year ended June, thanks to the elevated demand for semiconductors resulting from accelerated technology adoption. Excelpoint shares closed 5.3 per cent or 4.5 Singapore cents higher at 89.5 cents on Thursday, before the results announcement.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding BS6: The shipbuilder on Thursday posted a net profit of 1.6 billion yuan (S$339.6 million) for the first half, up 39 per cent from the same period the year before, despite a drop in vessel sales and trading revenue. In H1, the group set a record number of new orders for 112 new vessels, with a total contract value of US$6.67 billion. Yangzijiang shares rose S$0.01 or 0.7 per cent to S$1.44 before the results were announced.

Thakral Corporation AWI: The real estate player saw net profit lifted to S$8.9 million for the half-year ended June, up from S$241,000 a year ago, on the back of strong growth in the lifestyle and fragrance segment. Shares of Thakral closed 1.9 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$0.51 on Thursday, before the announcement.

Chip Eng Seng C29: The property player is back in the black with a S$99,000 net profit for the half-year ended June, a turnaround from its year-ago loss of S$24.4 million. Chip Eng Seng posted a H1 revenue of S$622.4 million, more than double the previous year's H1 topline of S$290 million. This was due to the low base in H1, when most construction activities ceased during the "circuit breaker". The counter closed 1.1 per cent or half a Singapore cent higher at 45 cents on Thursday, before the announcement.

Koh Brothers Group K75: The construction group posted a net profit of S$2 million for the six months ended June 30, reversing from a net loss of S$17.8 million in the preceding year, on the construction industry's road to recovery. Shares of Koh Brothers closed down 0.7 Singapore cent or 3.9 per cent to 17.2 cents on Thursday, before the results were released.

Challenger Technologies 573: The computer gadgets retailer held its net profit steady at S$9.3 million for the half-year ended June, down 3 per cent from a year ago. First-half revenue rose 15 per cent year on year to S$135.8 million, on the back of a 14.7 per cent rebound in the IT products and services segment to S$134.1 million. The counter closed up 0.9 per cent or half a Singapore cent at 58 cents on Thursday, before the announcement.

Enviro-Hub Holdings L23: A wholly owned unit of the company, Enviro Healthcare, has entered into a sale-and-purchase agreement for its planned acquisition of the remaining 75 per cent stake in an associate, Pastel Glove, for S$46.8 million. Enviro-Hub had called for a trading halt on Tuesday this week, and asked for the halt to be lifted on Thursday night. Shares of the company last traded at 8.4 Singapore cents before the halt.

Trading halt: AEM Holdings AWX called for a trading halt on Friday morning pending an announcement. This comes after the electronic services provider on Thursday posted earnings of S$29.5 million for the first half of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, down 46.6 per cent on-year as H1 revenue fell from a high base in what the group said was a "record breaking" H1 FY2020. The counter had ended Thursday S$0.03 or 0.7 per cent higher at S$4.09, before the results were released.

GK Goh G41 also called for a trading halt on Friday morning, pending release of an announcement. The counter closed half a Singapore cent or 0.5 per cent higher at 97.5 cents on Thursday.