Stocks to watch: OCBC, Sembcorp, Yangzijiang, Hong Leong Finance, StarHub, IReit Global

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Aug 4):

OCBC : The bank on Friday reported a net profit of S$1.7 billion for the second quarter ended June, up 34 per cent from S$1.3 billion last year. The increase was a result of asset growth and higher net interest margin, which registered a 55-basis point increase to 2.26 per cent on the back of higher market interest rates. Shares of OCBC ended Thursday down S$0.15 or 1.1 per cent at S$13.04.

Sembcorp Industries : The group’s net profit after exceptional items for the first half ended June rose 56 per cent to S$608 million from S$389 million in the same period last year. This came as the group reported a drop in cost of sales, which more than offset a 6 per cent drop in revenue Its counter closed up 1.3 per cent or S$0.07 at S$5.6 on Thursday. Yangzijiang Shipbuilding : The group posted a net profit of 1.7 billion yuan (S$324.6 million) for the first half ended Jun 30, up 47 per cent year on year from 1.2 billion yuan on a continuing operations basis, which did not include 194.6 million yuan from the spinoff and listing of Yangzijiang Financial in 2022. The counter closed 1.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$1.55 on Thursday, prior to the announcement.

Hong Leong Finance : The company posted on Thursday a S$46.6 million net profit for H1 2023, 3.2 per cent up from the S$45.1 million in the corresponding year-ago period. The increase in profit was driven by higher net interest income and write-back of expected credit loss allowances. Before the release of results, the counter closed flat at S$2.56.

StarHub : On Thursday, the telco reported a net profit of S$76.7 million for the half-year ended Jun 30, up 25.8 per cent from S$60.9 million in the corresponding year-ago period. The increase came from higher profit from operations and lower net finance costs, despite higher taxation. StarHub’s shares ended flat at S$1.05 on Thursday, before the announcement.

IReit Global : The real estate investment trust (Reit) announced on Thursday a distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.93 euro cent for the six months ended Jun 30, 23.8 per cent lower than its restated DPU for the corresponding year-ago period, which stands at 1.22 euro cents after taking into account its enlarged unit base. The fall in earnings is attributed to higher finance costs and tax expenses. Units of the Reit closed at S$0.43 on Thursday, up 1.2 per cent or S$0.005, before the news.