Stocks to watch: Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land, DFI Retail, Mandarin Oriental
Mia Pei
THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Mar 8):
Jardine Matheson Holdings : The company on Thursday posted an underlying net profit of US$1.66 billion for FY2023, up 5 per cent from underlying earnings of US$1.58 billion a year ago. The company attributed the growth mainly to strong results from its automotive business Astra and significantly improved contributions from DFI Retail, as well as property group Mandarin Oriental. Shares of Jardine Matheson fell 1.1 per cent, or US$0.43 to US$39.13 before the announcement.
Hongkong Land : The property developer on Thursday reported a full-year loss of US$582.3 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, from a US$202.7 million profit the year before. Its underlying profit slid by 5 per cent to US$734.2 million, from US$776.1 million a year ago. Loss per share was US$0.2629, a turnaround from earnings per share of US$0.0899 the previous year. Its counter closed up US$0.06 or 1.9 per cent at US$3.15 before the news.
DFI Retail Group : The group on Thursday posted underlying earnings of US$154.7 million for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2023, up 437 per cent from earnings of US$28.8 million in FY2022. Its net profit for the year stood at US$32.2 million, versus a loss of US$114.6 million in the prior year. Its shares rose 1.5 per cent or US$0.03 to end at US$2.03 before the release of the financials.
Mandarin Oriental International : The hotelier posted an underlying profit of US$81 million for FY2023, up from US$7.6 million a year ago. This translates to a full-year underlying profit growth of 966 per cent. Revenue for the year was up 23 per cent, led by the return of Chinese tourists. The group recorded a net loss, however, for FY2023 of US$365.4 million, up from US$49.5 million the year before. The counter closed 2.6 per cent or US$0.04 higher at US$1.56 before the news.
Dasin Retail Trus t: Its trustee-manager received a letter of demand from former independent non-executive director Sun Shu for S$99,139.13 in alleged director fees owed on Thursday. The trustee-manager said it is seeking legal advice over the letter. Units of Dasin Retail Trust last traded at S$0.025 on Mar 6.
Trading halt: Sabana Industrial real estate investment trust called for a trading halt on Friday morning before the market opened, pending the release of announcements. The counter closed Thursday down 1.4 per cent, or S$0.005, at S$0.36.
