Corporate digest

Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust

THE Reit, which owns outlet malls in China, posted an 18.8 per cent rise in its distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.935 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, from 1.629 cents a year ago.

The Reit's rental income under its entrusted management agreements (EMAs) was S$34.7 million, up 23 per cent from S$28.2 million the year before. Excluding straight-line adjustments, EMA rental income stood at S$32.3 million, up 2.5 per cent from S$31.5 million the previous year. The increase was due to the appreciation of yuan against the Singapore dollar by 4.7 per cent in Q4 2020 compared with Q4 2019.

China Aviation Oil (CAO)

THE mainboard-listed jet fuel trader posted a 27.6 per cent drop in net profit to US$32.6 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2020, from US$45 million a year ago.

CAO saw a decrease in gross profit and share of results from associates due to impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as an increase in expenses, partially offset by the increase in other income, it said in a bourse filing on Friday.

The results translate to earnings per share (EPS) of 3.79 US cents for the second half of 2020, against EPS of 5.24 cents for the same period a year ago.

First Resources

FIRST Resources on Friday reported net profit of US$56.4 million for the half year ended December 2020, down 5.8 per cent from US$59.9 million.

The drop was attributed to expected credit losses arising from changes in fair value of biological assets and unquoted investment. Revenue grew 18.8 per cent to US$382.2 million from S$321.9 million a year ago, due to higher average selling prices. Earnings per share for H2 2020 was 3.61 US cents, down from 3.78 cents.

For the full year, net profit was up 11.8 per cent to US$99.7 million. Revenue for the year was US$660.4 million, up 7.4 per cent from the previous year's revenue of US$614.9 million.

The group has proposed a final dividend of two Singapore cents per share, which will bring its FY2020 ordinary dividend to three Singapore cents per share.