Stocks to watch: DBS, Singtel, Great Eastern, CapitaLand Ascott Trust, OUE, OUE C-Reit

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Thursday (Aug 3):

DBS : Singapore’s largest lender on Thursday reported net profit of S$2.6 billion for the second quarter ended June, up 45 per cent from S$1.8 billion in the previous year. It declared a dividend of S$0.48 per share for Q2, bringing its dividend for the first half of the fiscal year to S$0.90 per share. The counter ended Wednesday down 1.6 per cent or S$0.56 at S$33.84. 

Singtel : The telco’s counter fell sharply after analysts from Citi flagged a decrease in earnings from Telkomsel, Singtel’s regional associate in Indonesia, on Tuesday. Telkomsel’s net income for the second quarter ended Jun 30 fell 21 per cent on the year to 5.41 trillion rupiah (S$476.2 million), which the analysts said could weigh down Singtel group’s pre-tax profit for FY2024. Singtel’s shares closed at a low of S$2.46 amid heavy trading on Wednesday, down 6.8 per cent or S$0.18. 

Great Eastern : The insurance provider’s net profit was up 251 per cent to S$193.2 million for the second quarter ended June. This resulted in a near-doubling of profit from the first half, which was overall driven by contributions from the Singapore Life business and shareholders’ fund. Shares of Great Eastern closed Wednesday down 0.1 per cent, or S$0.02 at S$18.50.

CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas): Its private placement has been priced at S$1.043 per stapled security, while the issue price of its preferential offering was S$1.025. Both issue prices were fixed at the lower end of the ranges stated on Wednesday, when its managers proposed the fundraising exercise, for which part of the proceeds will go into funding the stapled group’s proposed S$530.8 million acquisition of assets from its sponsor. Clas’ stapled securities closed unchanged at S$1.12 on Tuesday, before its managers requested a trading halt the following morning. The counter resumes trading on Thursday.

OUE and OUE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (C-Reit): The Reit and its sponsor announced on Wednesday a S$22 million asset enhancement initiative for Crowne Plaza Changi Airport. The initiative is expected to generate a return on investment of about 10 per cent on an estimated expenditure of S$14 million. Shares of OUE closed 0.9 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$1.06, while units of OUE C-Reit fell 4.8 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.295 on Wednesday, before the announcement. 

Daiwa House Logistics Trust : The Reit on Thursday posted a 0.4 per cent rise in distribution per unit to S$0.0261 from S$0.0260 in the same period the year before. Although gross revenue and net property income fell due to the weaker yen against the Singapore dollar, distributable income rose on realised exchange gain, along with lower finance costs and other yen-denominated expenses after currency conversion. The counter ended flat at S$0.615 on Wednesday.