Stocks to watch: Clar, Clas, DBS, Parkway Life Reit, NTAA, Lendlease Global Reit, FHT

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Feb 2):

CapitaLand Ascendas Reit (Clar): Its distribution per unit (DPU) fell 6.1 per cent year on year to 7.441 Singapore cents for the six months ended Dec 31, 2023. The decline came even as the Reit’s H2 gross revenue rose 11 per cent to S$761.7 million, and net property income (NPI) was up 4.6 per cent to S$514.3 million, said the Reit’s manager on Thursday. Clar ended at S$2.84, down S$0.08 or 2.7 per cent, before the announcement.

CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas): The stapled group is divesting Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore for S$148 million, which is 19.4 per cent above the 154-unit serviced residence’s book value as at end-2023. On Friday, its managers said they expect to book net proceeds of about S$138.6 million and a net gain of S$14.6 million from the divestment, which is expected to be completed in Q12024. Stapled securities of Clas ended Thursday flat at S$0.96. DBS : The bank will merge its equity capital markets, brokerage DBS Vickers and DBS Digital Exchange with its treasury markets business from Mar 1, it said on Friday. The organisational changes come in tandem with the retirement of Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, DBS’ group head of capital markets, who is stepping down after 36 years with the bank. Shares of DBS closed 1.2 per cent or S$0.05 lower at S$31.83 on Thursday.

Parkway Life Reit : Its DPU rose by 2.1 per cent to 7.48 cents for the six months ended Dec 31, 2023, after recent acquisitions of nursing homes. The Reit’s acquisition of five nursing homes in September 2022, and two more in Osaka, Japan, in October 2023 helped boost H2 gross revenue by 4.7 per cent to S$73.1 million. Units of Parkway Life Reit ended Thursday at S$3.50, down S$0.02 or 0.6 per cent, before the news. Novo Tellus Alpha Acquisition (NTAA): The special-purpose acquisition company on Friday announced that the redemption price for its Class-A Shares is about S$5.18. The payment will be made on Feb 21 after a Feb 13 record date. Its counter will be suspended from trading next Friday. NTAA’s shares closed 0.6 per cent higher at S$5.05 on Thursday.

Lendlease Global Commercial Reit : Its DPU fell 14.5 per cent to S$0.021 for its first half ended Dec 31, 2023, from S$0.0245 the year before. This was mainly driven by higher borrowing costs from interest rates that were higher than a year ago, said its manager on Thursday. Gross revenue was up 17.9 per cent on the year to S$119.9 million for the half-year period, from S$101.7 million in the year-ago period. Units of Lendlease Reit closed S$0.01 or 1.6 per cent down at S$0.62 before the announcement.

Frasers Hospitality Trust (FHT): The trust saw an increase in revenue per available room across its portfolios in the first quarter ended Dec 31, 2023, as tourism demand continued to show “remarkable resilience”. The group observed “sustained recovery” in its Singapore, Australia, United Kingdom, Japan and Malaysia markets, the managers said on Thursday. Stapled securities of FHT closed at S$0.47, up S$0.005 or 1.1 per cent, before the news.

Trading halt: Hong Lai Huat group called for a trading halt on Friday morning before the market opened, pending the release of announcements. The counter ended flat at S$0.053 on Thursday.