Stocks to watch: Great Eastern, Seatrium, SingLand, Raffles Medical, Hong Leong Finance

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Monday (Feb 26): Great Eastern : The insurance arm of OCBC reported on Monday a 13 per cent fall in H2 profit of S$337.4 million on the year. Earnings per share for the period stood at S$0.71, down 13 per cent from S$0.82 in the year-ago period. The board proposed a final dividend of S$0.40, which will be payable on May 17 upon shareholders’ approval at the annual general meeting. The counter closed Friday down 0.3 per cent or S$0.05 to S$18.24. Seatrium : The group on Monday reported a wider second-half net loss of S$1.7 billion compared to a net loss of S$118.3 million in the same period last year. It also proposed a 20-to-1 share consolidation exercise. Separately, the group announced it reached in-principle settlement agreements with Brazilian authorities to pay 670.7 million reais (S$182.4 million), with a further provision of S$82.4 million for indemnity to Keppel Corporation, in relation to Operation Car Wash. Shares of Seatrium ended Friday down S$0.007 or 7 per cent at S$0.093.

Singapore Land Group (SingLand): The real estate company reported a 7 per cent rise in net profit to S$102.4 million in the six months ended Dec 31, 2023, from S$95.3 million in the same period a year earlier. On Friday, the company said that this was mainly due to fair-value gain on subsidiaries’ investment properties of S$14.5 million in the half year, compared with a S$6.6 million fair-value loss recorded in H2 FY2022. SingLand shares closed up 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.82, before the announcement.

Raffles Medical Group : The medical services provider on Monday posted a 63.8 per cent drop in net profit to S$30.3 million for the second half ended Dec 31, 2023, from S$83.7 million in the previous corresponding period. The weaker performance came as Covid-19-related activities were discontinued in FY2023, the group said in a press statement. Shares of mainboard-listed Raffles Medical closed 1 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$1.05 on Friday.

Hong Leong Finance : The finance company on Friday reported a 45.4 per cent decline in net profit to S$46.8 million from S$85.8 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2023. This was mainly due to lower net interest income. The directors have proposed a final dividend of S$0.09 per share, down from the final dividend of S$0.1325 per share in FY22. Shares of Hong Leong Finance closed unchanged at S$2.56, before the announcement. Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (Cromwell E-Reit): Its manager announced on Monday a 7 per cent drop in H2 distribution per unit to 0.07903 euros (S$0.11). This came as the Reit’s net property income for the half year declined 5.3 per cent to 65.7 million euros, as compared to 69.4 million euros in H2 FY2022. Units of Cromwell E-Reit closed Friday up 0.7 per cent at 1.36 euros.

QAF Limited : The multi-industry food company posted a 101 per cent rise in net profit to S$22.6 million for the second half of the year ended Dec 31, 2023, from S$11.2 million in the previous corresponding period. This was on the back of increased sales from its bakery segment, driven by underlying growth across all its core markets, the company said on Friday. Shares of QAF closed up 1.2 per cent or S$0.01 to S$0.86, before the announcement.

Tuan Sing Holdings : The property company reported a narrower net loss in the second half of 2023 amid an increase in revenue. On Friday, the company said that net loss for the six months ended Dec 31, 2023, fell 77 per cent to S$1.2 million, compared with a net loss of S$5.1 million in the corresponding year-ago period. This was mainly due to higher fair-value gains and greater contributions from other investments. The counter rose 2 per cent or S$0.005 to close at S$0.255, before the announcement.