Stocks to watch: Singtel, LMIRT, The Hour Glass, CDL, Cortina, Delfi, Valuetronics

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Wednesday (May 29):

Singtel : The telco is part of a consortium poised as a frontrunner to buy a minority stake worth US$1 billion in ST Telemedia Global Data Centre (STT GDC), one of Asia’s biggest data centre providers, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The consortium, which consists of US firm KKR and Singtel, aims to acquire up to 20 per cent of STT GDC. Shares of Singtel closed 1.2 per cent or S$0.03 higher at S$2.46, before the news on Tuesday. 

Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT): Its manager announced on Wednesday that LMIRT has obtained a loan facility of up to 2.5 trillion rupiah (S$209.5 million). About 2.3 trillion rupiah of the proceeds will be used to prepay the trust’s Singapore dollar-denominated secured bank loans in June. The counter closed flat at S$0.012 on Tuesday.

The Hour Glass : The luxury watch retail group posted a 9 per cent fall in net profit to S$79.5 million for its second half ended Mar 31, 2024, from S$87.8 million in the previous corresponding period. Geopolitical tensions, economic volatility and rising operating costs weighed on profits, the group said. Shares of the mainboard-listed company closed 0.6 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$1.61 on Tuesday, before the announcement. 

City Developments Ltd (CDL): The mainboard-listed property developer has bought over Delfi Orchard, a 40-year-old strata-titled building of which it already owns the majority share, for S$439 million. This was just above the guide price of S$438 million when the site was launched for collective sale in mid-April. Shares of the company closed 1.9 per cent or S$0.11 higher at S$5.97 on Tuesday, before the announcement.

Cortina : The luxury watch retailer reported a 22 per cent fall in net profit to S$30.2 million for its second half ended Mar 31, 2024, from S$38.6 million in the previous corresponding period. The mainboard-listed group said that unfavourable exchange rate movements, as well as increases in rental and renovation expenses due to major expansions, affected its earnings. Shares of Cortina closed flat at S$3.22 on Tuesday, before the announcement. 

Delfi : The chocolate confectioner booked an 8.5 per cent fall in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to US$23.3 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from US$25.5 million the year before. In a business update, the group attributed lower net sales to its decision to “reduce and refocus spending on trade promotions”, and weakness in the regional currencies against the US dollar. Shares of Delfi closed flat at S$0.885 on Tuesday, before the announcement.

Valuetronics : The electronics manufacturing services provider on Wednesday posted an 18.9 per cent increase in net profit to HK$77.4 million (S$13.4 million) for the second half ended Mar 31, from HK$65.1 million in the same period last year. Although revenue was down 19.1 per cent, the group recorded lower cost of sales and a jump in other income and gains. Its counter closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.645 on Tuesday.

Ossia International : The company posted a 30 per cent drop in net profit to S$4.7 million for its second half ended Mar 31, from S$6.7 million in the previous corresponding period. It attributed the fall in revenue primarily to the weakening of the Taiwan dollar against the Singapore dollar. Shares of Ossia closed 1.8 per cent or S$0.002 higher at S$0.115 on Tuesday, before the results were announced.