Q4 numbers fail to lift hopes; muted outlook for local firms

Singapore

EXPECTATIONS are not running high as the earnings season for the fourth quarter kicks in. Analysts note that weaker economic growth and investment sentiment, having taken a hit from escalating trade tensions in the second half of last year, will continue to weigh on bottom lines.

This will be further aggravated by the typical year-end lull. Some bright spots they can identify are banks, benefiting from higher net interest margins, certain blue-chip property developers as they recognise revenue from earlier projects or those completed overseas, and a handful of others that are seeing better operational performances than before because the factors that used to plague them have reversed.