Stocks to watch: Keppel, CDL Hospitality Trusts, First Sponsor, Starhill Global Reit, Japfa, Nanofilm
THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday (Oct 29):
Keppel : Its subsidiary M1 is acquiring a 70 per cent stake in Vietnam-based IT solutions provider, ADG National Investment and Technology Development, for a total purchase consideration of 719.9 million dong (S$37.8 million). On Tuesday, Keppel said the acquisition marks the telco’s strategic entry into the Vietnamese market. Shares of the group closed Friday S$0.03 or 0.5 per cent lower at S$6.48.
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) : The stapled group’s net property income for the third quarter ended Sep 30 fell 6.8 per cent to S$36.3 million, from S$39 million in the previous corresponding period. This comes as revenue for the quarter declined 3.7 per cent on the year to S$67.5 million, as pent-up demand for post-pandemic travel normalised, said the managers on Tuesday. Stapled securities of CDLHT closed flat at S$0.93 on Monday.
First Sponsor : The mainboard-listed property developer is cautiously optimistic about a market turnaround in its China property business as its development projects there saw subdued pre-sales for the third quarter ended Sep 30 amid weak property market sentiment. The group said on Monday that its total operating income was up 15.2 per cent year on year at 40 million euros (S$57.2 million) for the first nine months of 2024. It expects the completion of its property holding projects to “further enhance its recurring income”. Shares of First Sponsor closed at S$1.07 on Monday, down 0.9 per cent or S$0.01, before the announcement.
Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (SGReit) : The Reit is selling office strata lots it owns at Wisma Atria for a cash consideration of about S$16.1 million or S$2,100 per square foot. The sale is part of its strategy to rejuvenate its portfolio and proceeds may be used to pare down debt, for working capital purposes, for future acquisitions, and/or to make distributions to unitholders, said the Reit’s manager on Monday. Units of SGReit closed at S$0.505, down 1 per cent or S$0.005 on Monday, before the announcement.
Japfa : The agri-food company swung into the black with an US$87.5 million net profit for its first nine months ended Sep 30, reversing its US$22.7 million net loss for the same period last year. This was mainly due to improved contributions from its Indonesian unit and its “animal protein other” segment in Vietnam, it said on Monday. For the nine-month period, its earnings per share stood at 4.3 US cents and revenue came in at US$3.4 billion from US$3.3 billion a year earlier. Shares of Japfa rose 1.4 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.36 on Monday, before the results were released.
Nanofilm Technologies : The nanotechnology solutions provider’s revenue for its third quarter ended Sep 30 rose 10 per cent year on year to S$60 million, up from S$55 million. Nanofilm said in a Monday filing that its comparable gross profit for Q3 climbed 66 per cent from the last quarter and 4 per cent from last year, reversing losses from the first half of 2024, but it did not provide exact gross profit figures. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the company said it expects higher revenue and profit for the full year ended 2024 compared to 2023. Shares of Nanofilm fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.825 on Monday, before the release of the results.
