Stocks to watch: Haw Par, UOI, Japfa, Cordlife, UMS, Elite UK Reit

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Monday (Mar 3).

Haw Par ; United Overseas Insurance (UOI): Minority shareholders of UOB’s insurance arm proposed resolutions to distribute its holding of 4.27 million shares in healthcare player Haw Par Corporation to shareholders of UOI, as well as to appoint an independent financial adviser to unlock further shareholder value. The shareholders, who represent around 2.8 million shares or 4.5 per cent of UOI’s total shares, proposed to table the resolutions at its upcoming annual general meeting. Shares of Haw Par closed Friday 0.7 per cent or S$0.09 down at S$12.71. Shares of UOI closed Friday 0.7 per cent or S$0.05 down at S$7.40.

Japfa : The agri-food group posted net profit of US$61.9 million for H2 FY2024 ended December as revenue rose and cost of sales shrank. It posted US$2.4 billion in revenue, up 2 per cent year on year, while cost of sales contracted 5 per cent. It made a turnaround in profitability for FY2024 with US$113.6 million in earnings against a US$30.8 million loss for FY2023. The counter closed flat at S$0.61 on Friday, before the financial results were published.

Cordlife : The private cord-blood bank sunk into the red with a net loss of S$6.3 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2024, compared with a net profit of S$1.3 million in the previous corresponding period. Loss per share for the half-year period came in at S$0.0247, from earnings per share (EPS) of S$0.0051 in the corresponding year-ago period. For the full-year, it posted a net loss of S$18.7 million, compared with a net profit of S$3.6 million a year earlier. Shares of Cordlife closed S$0.003 or 1.9 per cent higher at S$0.16 on Friday, before the announcement.

UMS : UMS Integration posted a 29 per cent year-on-year fall in earnings to S$11.1 million for the fourth quarter of FY2024 ended December on lower revenue and higher expenses. EPS stood at S$0.0146 for Q4 FY2024, lower than S$0.0234 for the year-ago period. UMS shares closed down 1 per cent or S$0.01 at S$1.02 on Friday, before the financial results were made public.

Elite UK Reit : The manager on Monday said it has divested Crown Buildings, Caerphilly at Claude Road for £710,000 (S$1.2 million). This represents a 18 per cent premium above its valuation of £600,000 as at end-December, based on an independent valuation conducted by CBRE. Net proceeds from the divestment will be used for the repayment of Elite UK Reit’s outstanding borrowings. Units of Elite UK Reit ended Friday 1.6 per cent or £0.005 lower at £0.30.