Stocks to watch: LHN, CICT, Clar, MPACT, First Reit, Japfa, Indofood Agri

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday (Aug 1):

LHN Limited : Shareholders of LHN Limited on Monday voted in favour of wholly-owned subsidiary LHN Group disposing of all its shares in LHN Logistics , agreeing to accept a voluntary conditional general offer to be made by Shanghai-listed Milkyway Chemical. The deal is expected to generate S$32 million in cash proceeds for LHN Limited. Prior to the announcement, shares of LHN Limited closed down 1.3 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.385, while LHN Logistics closed flat at S$0.225.

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT): CICT reported on Tuesday a 1.5 per cent increase in distribution per unit (DPU) to S$0.053 for its first half ended Jun 30, 2023, from S$0.0522 the year before. This comes on the back of higher gross revenue, mainly due to contributions from its acquisitions, asset enhancement initiative and higher rental income. Units of CICT were down 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 at S$2.04 on Monday.

CapitaLand Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Clar): The trust announced on Monday a DPU of S$0.07719 for the first half ended Jun 30, 2023, down 2 per cent from the corresponding year-ago period. The decline was due to the higher interest expense resulting from rising interest rates as well as an enlarged unit base following the trust’s private placement in May. Units of Clar fell 1.4 per cent or S$0.04 to close at S$2.81 before the announcement.

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT): The trust’s manager reported on Monday a 12.8 per cent year-on-year dip in its DPU to S$0.0218 for its first quarter ended Jun 30, 2023, from S$0.025. The decline was a result of higher interest rates, rising utility costs and a stronger Singapore dollar. Units of MPACT closed down 1.8 per cent or S$0.03 to S$1.65 on Monday, prior to the announcement.

First Real Estate Investment Trust (First Reit): The Reit’s manager announced on Tuesday a 6.1 per cent decline in H1 DPU to S$0.0124 from S$0.0132 a year before. This was despite a 1 per cent increase in distributable income to S$25.5 million. The decline was attributed to the enlargement of the Reit’s unit base in financing the acquisition of Japanese properties in March last year. The Reit’s units closed 1.9 per cent, or S$0.005, lower at S$0.26 on Monday.

Japfa : The agri-food company reported a loss of US$53.6 million for the first half of 2023, from a profit of US$25.5 million in H1 2022. The loss was attributed to the increase in raw material costs and a strong inflationary pressure. The company’s manager expects raw material prices to remain high as weather conditions may impact crop production and the situation in Ukraine persists. Shares of Japfa were down S$0.005 or 2.1 per cent to S$0.23 on Monday, before the announcement. (*see amendment note)

Indofood Agri Resources : Its net profit for the first half ended Jun 30, 2023, declined 64.8 per cent to 88.6 million rupiah (S$7.8 million) from 252 billion rupiah in the year-ago period, reported the mainboard-listed agribusiness group on Monday. This was mainly due to lower gross profit margins and a foreign exchange loss of 42 billion rupiah. The counter closed flat at S$0.30, before the news.

*Amendment note: The article previously stated that Japfa’s H1 2022 profit was US$44 million instead of US$25.5 million.