Stocks to watch: CapitaLand Retail China Trust, Civmec, FJ Benjamin

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Thursday:

CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT): CRCT's preferential offering has received valid acceptances and excess applications for about 120.7 million preferential offering units, or about 1.4 times the number of units offered, the manager of the real estate investment trust (Reit) said on Wednesday night. CRCT will raise gross proceeds of about S$125.1 million from this offering, which closed on Wednesday, and is part of a larger equity funding exercise to fund its purchase of three shopping centres from CapitaLand. The 86.9 million new units from the preferential offering, priced at S$1.44 apiece, are expected to be listed and quoted on the Singapore Exchange's main board on Sept 3 at 9 am. Units of CRCT closed flat at S$1.53 on Wednesday.

Civmec: Construction and engineering group Civmec on Wednesday posted a 96.3 per cent plunge in net profit to A$120,000 (S$112,420) for the fourth quarter ended June 30, from A$3.2 million a year ago. This came on the back of lower revenue, which declined 66.1 per cent to A$73.4 million due to projects completing in the period, and the timing of commencement of new projects. Civmec, which is dual-listed in Singapore and Australia, posted earnings per share (EPS) of 0.02 Singapore cent for the quarter, down from 0.64 cent a year ago. Civmec declared a cash dividend per share of 0.7 Singapore cent, unchanged from last year. Shares of Civmec closed flat at 33.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday.

FJ Benjamin Holdings: Retailer FJ Benjamin returned to profitability for FY2019 after a sustained period of restructuring, with a net profit of S$177,000, compared to a net loss of S$1.24 million for FY2018. Revenue for the full year ended June 30 declined 21 per cent year on year to S$131.5 million from S$166 million. This was partly due to a S$29.3 million reduction in revenue from closing unprofitable businesses in FY2018. The group's Indonesian associate also slowed down purchases, resulting in a S$4.4 million reduction in sales. Earnings per share was 0.02 Singapore cent, compared to loss per share of 0.18 Singapore cent a year ago. The counter closed flat at 2.9 Singapore cents on Wednesday.

Metech International: The electronic waste management company called for a trading halt on Thursday morning before market open, pending the release of an announcement. The counter closed at 16.9 Singapore cents on Wednesday, up 0.6 per cent, or 0.1 cent.