Hot stock: Tat Hong halts trading after share price surged more than 5%

TRADING in Tat Hong Holdings has been halted at 03:18pm on Thursday, pending the release of an announcement.

The crane specialist was hovering around S$0.405 a share, up S$0.020 a share, or 5.195 per cent, at the time trading was halted. More than 3 million shares changed hands.

Last Thursday, the company reported that it slipped deeper into the red for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2017. Net loss was S$5.086 million, compared to a net loss of S$3.578 million a year ago. Revenue grew 1 per cent to S$118.329 million.

On June 30, 2017, it recorded a cash and cash equivalents of about S$117 million of which S$21.4 million was earmarked for certain banking facilities.

Looking ahead, Tat Hong said it expected the ASEAN market to remain challenging, while Chinese demand remains healthy. It was "cautiously optimistic" about the improving market and economic outlook in Australia.

Tat Hong said it would continue its fleet rationalisation activities, and also continue to take advantage of its strong China presence to explore opportunities in China's One Belt One Road initiative.