Stocks to watch: Hongkong Land, Mapletree Industrial Trust, CapitaLand Ascott Trust, Cordlife
THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (Oct 30):
Hongkong Land : Hongkong Land said on Tuesday that it will exit the build-to-sell residential development business and pivot to fund management. The moves come amid its strategic review of its business as Hongkong Land swung to an underlying loss of US$7 million in the six months to Jun 30 from an underlying net profit of US$422 million in the same period last year. The property group intends to recycle up to US$10 billion in capital by 2035 and grow assets under management to up to US$100 billion by then. It also expects to double its profit before interest and tax, and double dividends per share in that time. Shares of Hongkong Land last closed at US$3.89, down 1.5 per cent or US$0.06.
Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT ): The trust posted a distribution per unit of S$0.0337 for the second quarter ended Sep 30 up 1.5 per cent year on year from S$0.0332. This came alongside higher occupancy and rent, its manager said in a bourse filing on Tuesday. Revenue for Q2 climbed 4.2 per cent year on year to S$181.4 million from S$174.1 million and net property income inched 4.6 per cent to S$134.5 million from S$128.6 million. Units of MIT closed at S$2.39, down S$0.04 or 1.6 per cent, on Tuesday, before the announcement.
ESR-Logos Real Estate Investment Trust (ESR-Logos Reit) : Its net property income for the third quarter fell 6.5 per cent year on year to S$192.7 million, while gross revenue declined by 6.3 per cent to S$272.5 million, its manager said in an interim business update on Wednesday. The results were impacted due to the Reit’s divestment of 11 non-core assets conducted in FY2023 and Q2 2024, with the proceeds pending deployment. Its counter closed flat at S$0.28 on Tuesday.
Far East Hospitality Trust (FEHT) : The stapled group’s net property income for the third quarter ended Sep 30 fell 6.8 per cent to S$26.2 million, from S$28.1 million in the previous corresponding period. On Wednesday, the managers said the decline comes amid higher property taxes and lower revenue mainly due to an absence of a one-off contribution by hotels contracted for isolation purposes in 2023. Stapled securities of FEHT closed flat at S$0.625 on Tuesday.
CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) : The China-focused retail real estate investment trust’s net property income for the first nine months fell 5.1 per cent on the year. This comes amid lower contributions from its logistics and business park portfolios, exited malls as well as lower effective occupancies and rentals, said its manager on Wednesday. Units of CLCT rose S$0.005 or 0.7 per cent to end Tuesday at S$0.76.
CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas) : Its gross profit for the third fiscal quarter rose 8 per cent year on year due to acquisitions, completed asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs), and interest savings from repayment of higher-interest debts. On Wednesday, the lodging trust’s managers said such portfolio reconstitution initiatives helped to mitigate the impact of income lost through divestments and ongoing AEIs. Stapled securities of Clas ended Tuesday flat at S$0.91.
Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) : The Reit’s net property income rose 1.4 per cent on year to S$37.9 million for its first quarter ended Sep 30, from S$37.4 million. Revenue grew 1.9 per cent on year to S$48 million from S$47.1 million amid higher contributions from its Singapore and Perth properties and as the Malaysian ringgit strengthened against the Singapore dollar, said its manager on Tuesday. Its portfolio occupancy stood at 97.6 per cent at the end of the quarter. Units of Starhill Global Reit closed unchanged at S$0.505 on Tuesday, prior to the announcement.
Cordlife : The embattled cord-blood bank announced on Tuesday that it would hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) next month to appoint new auditors and approve its directors’ fees. The proposed appointment save Cordlife about 30 per cent in audit fees. During the EGM, the company will also seek unitholders’ approval for its directors to be paid up to S$135,000 for the financial year ending Dec 31. The proposed resolution to approve directors’ fees for the same period was not approved at the last EGM and no director was paid fees for the 2024 financial year to date. Shares of Cordlife closed flat at S$0.16 on Tuesday before the announcement.
