Stocks to watch: OCBC, CLI, Jardine C&C, CDL, UOL, Golden Agri-Resources

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (Feb 28):

OCBC : The lender’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023, rose 12 per cent to S$1.62 billion from S$1.44 billion a year prior, on the back of a 2 per cent increase in operating profit as well as lower allowances. On Wednesday, the lender reported a net interest income of S$2.46 billion, up 3 per cent from the year before, as average assets grew 4 per cent. Shares of OCBC closed Tuesday 0.2 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$13.31.

CapitaLand Investment (CLI): The real estate investment manager sank into the red for its second half ended Dec 31, 2023, with a net loss of S$170 million, versus a net profit of S$428 million for the same period the previous year. CLI attributed the weaker performance to losses from the revaluation of investment properties, partially mitigated by higher gains from asset recycling. Its counter closed 1.1 per cent or S$0.03 lower at S$2.74 on Tuesday.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage (C&C): The company posted an underlying profit of US$576.8 million for the second half ended Dec 31, 2023. This was a 0.5 per cent increase from the year-ago period. Full-year underlying profit grew 5.8 per cent. The group on Tuesday attributed the “strong” full-year growth – which lifted underlying profit to almost US$1.2 billion – to record results from Astra, which supplies heavy equipment. The counter rose 0.04 per cent or S$0.01 to S$26, before the announcement.

City Developments Limited (CDL): The property developer on Wednesday posted a 51.2 per cent rise in net profit for the second half ended Dec 31, 2023, to S$250.8 million, from S$165.8 million in the previous corresponding period. This came as the group recorded a 22.9 per cent increase in revenue to S$2.2 billion, along with lower expenses. CDL closed 0.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$5.96 on Tuesday.

UOL : The real estate group announced a 373.9 per cent leap in net profit to S$572.7 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2023. This was mainly due to a S$442.3 million gain from the sale of a wholly owned subsidiary that held Parkroyal on Kitchener Road. Before fair value and other gains, the mainboard-listed group’s half-year profit was down 12 per cent to S$145.5 million, from S$164.5 million in the year-ago period, it said on Tuesday. The counter closed at S$6.01, down 1.6 per cent or S$0.10, before the announcement.

Golden Agri-Resources : The palm oil company on Wednesday reported net profit of US$15.3 million for the second half ended Dec 31, 2023, down 96.1 per cent year on year from US$392.4 million the year before. This was due to lower revenue and a decline in share of results of joint ventures. Its board proposed a lower final dividend of S$0.00613 per share, as opposed to the S$0.00991 final dividend paid out in the same period the previous year. Shares of Golden Agri ended Tuesday flat at S$0.275.

Olam Group : The agri-business giant reported on Wednesday a 15.4 per cent year-on-year increase to S$230.8 million net profit for the half year ended December 2023. The group also announced a share buyback programme for up to a maximum of 5 per cent of total outstanding shares within the current mandate and renewal of this mandate at its upcoming annual general meeting in April. Its board proposed a final dividend of S$0.04 per share, taking the full-year dividend to S$0.07 per share. The counter closed Tuesday down 3.2 per cent or S$0.03 at S$0.90. Sheng Siong : The supermarket chain posted a 3.6 per cent increase in net profit to S$68.3 million for the second half of 2023, from S$65.9 million in the year-ago period. On Tuesday, the group attributed the rise to a doubling in finance income in the half year to S$5.8 million, from S$2.9 million in the corresponding period the previous year. H2 revenue rose 2.2 per cent to S$677.2 million, from S$662.7 million the year before, on the opening of six new stores in FY2022 and FY2023 in Singapore. Shares of Sheng Siong closed flat at S$1.56, before the announcement.