Stocks to watch: DBS, Olam, Parkway Life Reit, Japfa, CSE Global

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

DBS : The lender on Thursday announced a 15 per cent year-on-year rise in first quarter net profit to S$2.95 billion, marking a new high. DBS said net profit would have been S$2.96 billion excluding exceptional items, which included integration costs for Citibank Taiwan. It declared an interim dividend of S$0.54 for each ordinary share. Additional shares arising from its proposed 1-for-10 bonus issue will also qualify for this dividend.

On Tuesday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it will not extend the six-month restriction on DBS’ non-essential activities, but the 1.8 times multiplier on its risk-weighted assets for operational risk remains. Shares of DBS ended Tuesday at S$34.90, up S$0.12 or 0.4 per cent.

Olam : The agri-business group’s indirect subsidiary, Olam Agri, has proposed an off-market takeover to acquire all shares in Australian-listed cotton ginning company Namoi Cotton, in response to a new takeover bid by its rival Louis Dreyfus Company Asia. Olam Agri said on Thursday that it offered A$0.66 cash per Namoi share, subject to obtaining at least 50.1 per cent of Namoi. It proposed increasing its offer value to A$0.70 cash per share if it obtains at least 90 per cent of shares before the end of the offer period. Olam’s shares closed Tuesday down 2.5 per cent or S$0.03 to S$1.18 on a cum dividend basis.

Parkway Life Reit : The healthcare real estate investment trust (Reit) posted a distribution per unit of S$0.0379 for the first quarter of 2024, up 4 per cent from S$0.0365 a year ago. Overall, gross revenue declined 2.7 per cent to S$36.3 million, from S$37.3 million, its manager said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, net property income slipped 2.8 per cent to S$34.3 million, from S$35.3 million. Units of the Reit ended S$0.05 or 1.4 per cent higher at S$3.59, before the business update.

Japfa : The agri-food company recorded a profit of US$12.4 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, a reversal from a US$43 million loss in the year-ago period. The improvement was driven by its businesses in Indonesia and Vietnam, the company said on Tuesday. Japfa’s revenue for the quarter grew 11.6 per cent year on year to US$1.1 billion, from US$1 billion. Shares of Japfa closed S$0.01 or 3.2 per cent lower at S$0.30, before the results.

CSE Global : The systems integrator secured S$186.2 million worth of new orders in Q1 ended Mar 31, up 16.7 per cent from a year ago. The growth was “driven by stronger demand for electrification and automation solutions in the infrastructure and energy industries”, CSE said on Tuesday. Its automation segment saw the greatest growth, with orders rising 65.4 per cent to S$51.8 million. The counter closed flat at S$0.425, before the announcement.