Stocks to watch: CMT, CCT, Suntec Reit, PLife Reit, MIT, Keppel DC Reit, KORE

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

CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT): CMT and CCT have proposed to merge, with the enlarged entity expected to become the third-largest real estate investment trust in the Asia-Pacific. The deal is subject to the approval of unitholders of CMT and CCT. Before the merger announcement, CMT and CCT also released their fourth-quarter results on Wednesday. CCT declared a 2.7 per cent increase in its distribution per unit (DPU) to 2.28 Singapore cents, while CMT posted a 4 per cent rise in DPU to 3.11 Singapore cents.

At Tuesday's close, CCT units fell two Singapore cents or 0.9 per cent, and CMT was down two cents or 0.8 per cent.

Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec Reit): Its DPU fell by 9.4 per cent to 2.347 Singapore cents for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, from 2.59 cents a year ago. This was mainly due to an enlarged unit base and lower capital distribution, its manager said on Wednesday. Suntec Reit units closed at S$1.87 on Tuesday, down one Singapore cent or 0.5 per cent.

Parkway Life Reit (PLife Reit): It reported a 2 per cent rise in DPU to 3.34 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter. The increase was led by contribution from three Japan properties acquired in December 2019, rental growth of existing properties, as well as cost savings from refinancing initiatives, said PLife Reit's manager on Wednesday morning. The counter closed at S$3.40 on Tuesday, up two Singapore cents, or 0.6 per cent. 

Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT): New revenue contributions lifted MIT's DPU for the third quarter to 3.16 Singapore cents on an enlarged unit base, up from 3.07 cents a year earlier. The counter closed at S$2.78 on Tuesday, down one cent, or 0.36 per cent, before the results were announced.

Keppel DC Reit: On Tuesday evening, it posted a DPU of 1.83 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, down from 1.85 cents a year ago. Excluding the impact of the pro-rata preferential offering in October 2019 of about 0.1 cent per unit, the DPU for Q4 would have been 1.93 cents. Keppel DC Reit units closed flat at S$2.25 on Tuesday before the results were released.

Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit (KORE): The trust, previously known as Keppel-KBS US Reit, on Tuesday posted a fourth-quarter restated DPU of 1.51 US cents, higher than the restated DPU of 1.25 cents in the same period a year ago. KORE units closed at 76.5 US cents on Tuesday, down two cents, or 2.55 per cent, before the announcement of the results.

SP Corporation: The company on Tuesday posted a 32 per cent rise in full-year net profit to S$2.5 million from S$1.9 million a year ago, despite a fall in revenue. Its top line decreased 32 per cent to S$93.1 million due to lower revenue from rubber and coal trading. SP Corp shares closed flat at 50.5 Singapore cents on Tuesday.

City Developments Limited, DBS, UOB, Singtel, Singapore Exchange: The five companies have made it to the 2020 edition of Bloomberg's Gender Equality Index. The index measures gender equality across internal company statistics, employee policies, external community engagement and gender-conscious product offerings.

The Place Holdings: The company on Tuesday said Leow Soon Guan has ceased to be its chief strategy officer, while Kam Tin Seah has ceased to be chief operating officer, due to divergent opinions on the firm's operational matters and strategic direction. The Place Holdings shares closed flat at 1.9 Singapore cents on Tuesday, before the announcement.