Stocks to watch: Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land, DFI Retail Group

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

Jardine Matheson :  The conglomerate on Thursday announced a 5 per cent increase in underlying net profit to US$1.6 billion for FY2022 from U$1.5 billion for FY2021. However, net profit for the period was down 81 per cent to US$354 million from US$1.8 billion the previous year. The group mainly attributed the fall to its net non-trading items which had a negative position by the end of FY2022 compared with a positive position in 2021. The counter ended at US$49.88, down 0.3 per cent or U$0.17 on Thursday before the news.

Hongkong Land : The property group on Thursday announced a fall in underlying earnings by 20 per cent to U$766.1 million for FY2022 from US$966 million for FY2021. The group was in the black with a net profit of US$203 million, a reversal from a net loss of US$349 million in 2021, which included a US$1.3 billion reduction in property valuations primarily due to lower market rents for its Hong Kong central portfolio. Its board’s proposed final dividend of US$0.16 per share was unchanged from 2021. Shares of Hongkong Land ended at U$4.63, down 0.4 per cent or U$0.02 on Thursday before the news.