Stocks to watch: Del Monte Pacific, TTJ Holdings, Raffles Education, Mandarin Oriental International

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

Del Monte Pacific: Del Monte Pacific on Thursday said it would delay the initial public offering (IPO) of its Philippine unit, citing volatile market conditions. It said in February that it would offer about 559.5 million shares, representing 20 per cent of Del Monte Philippines Inc's (DMPI) current number of ordinary shares. The estimated maximum offering price will be 29.88 pesos per DMPI share. The proposed public offering will also result in a one-time gain of about US$304 million for the group, assuming that DMPI raises net maximum proceeds of US$314 million. The counter last traded at S$0.19 apiece on Wednesday, up 1.6 per cent, or 0.3 Singapore cent. 

TTJ Holdings: Structural steel fabricator TTJ Holdings on Wednesday posted a net profit of S$3.05 million for the third quarter, up 27 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the three months to April 30 was S$28.66 million, up 71 per cent from the same period a year earlier, mainly contributed by the structural steel business. It also operates a smaller dormitory business. Earnings per share was 0.87 Singapore cent, up from 0.69 Singapore cent for the third quarter last year. TTJ shares closed unchanged at S$0.34 on Wednesday before the results were released.

Raffles Education: A A$82 million (S$83.5 million) deal Raffles Education entered into on April 16 with Australia's Propertylink for the sale of a six-storey commercial building in Parramatta in New South Wales has fallen through as both parties were unable to reach an agreement over the terms of the sale. The said property is being leased out to Raffles Education's subsidiary, Raffles College. Raffles Education shares closed S$0.001 or 0.6 per cent lower at S$0.178 on Wednesday before the announcement.

Mandarin Oriental International: A fire broke out at London's luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel on Wednesday, with dozens of firefighters deployed to tackle the blaze that pumped thick smoke high into the air. The 12-storey hotel was evacuated and crowds quickly built up outside as around 120 firefighters and 20 fire engines tackled the blaze on the roof. Singapore-listed Mandarin Oriental International said on Thursday before the Singapore market opened that the fire had been extinguished and there were no casualties. The company will provide an update to shareholders in its interim results statement to be published at the end of July. Mandarin Oriental shares closed at US$2.49 on Wednesday on the Singapore Exchange.