Stocks to watch: mm2, Noble, CDW, LTC Corp, Sakae, Hong Leong Asia

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

mm2 Asia: Mainboard-listed mm2 Asia saw net profit for its second fiscal quarter fall 17.7 per cent on higher finance expenses, including the one-off unwinding interest on the deferred purchase consideration for the acquisition of Cathay Cineplexes, the group said on Wednesday night. After adjusting for the one-off interest amount, net profit would have risen 17.7 per cent to S$5.3 million.

Noble Group: The board of Noble Group said before trading opened on Thursday that the schemes of arrangement tabled for its debt revamp have been granted court sanctions. The English Court sanctioned the English scheme on Tuesday while the Bermuda Court issued the order sanctioning the Bermuda scheme on Wednesday. Noble said its debt restructuring exercise is expected to turn effective on Nov 26.

CDW Holding: Consumer electronics component manufacturer CDW Holding on Wednesday posted a net profit of US$900,000 for the third quarter ended Sept 30, down 31 per cent from US$1.3 million a year ago on lower revenue from fewer customer orders. Q3 revenue fell 21.5 per cent to US$23.5 million from US$29.9 million.

LTC Corp: Steel trading and property group LTC Corp's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Nov 14 to seek approval for voluntary delisting ended abruptly after shareholders voted for an adjournment. According to a statement filed with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) early Thursday morning, LTC said that shareholders who were supposed to decide on the delisting resolution had instead asked for postponement on the grounds of recent proposed changes by SGX Regco on delisting rules.

Sakae Holdings: Sakae Holdings' earnings for the first quarter fell 63.6 per cent year-on-year to S$75,000 from S$206,000 as streamlined operations led to lower revenue, the operator of conveyor belt sushi restaurants announced on Wednesday. This translated to earnings per share (EPS) of 0.05 Singapore cent for the three months ended September, a third of the EPS of 0.15 Singapore cent for the corresponding period a year ago.

Hong Leong Asia: Hong Leong Asia has reported a weaker third-quarter net profit of S$2.8 million, down 36.4 per cent from S$4.4 million as it has been hit by the decline in the construction industry in Singapore while its Malaysian subsidiary faced keen price competition due to fewer property projects and excess cement capacity.

Fragrance Group: Mainboard-listed real estate developer Fragrance Group's net profit dived 47.5 per cent from S$4.2 million to S$2.2 million for the third quarter, as a result of a 20 per cent decline in its revenue and lower contributions from its joint venture. Fragrance reported S$44.7 million in revenue in the three months ended September. Its revenue for the corresponding period in the preceding year was S$55.9 million.

The Straits Trading Company: The Straits Trading Company has recorded 18.1 per cent higher earnings for the third quarter, largely on the back of increased contributions from an enlarged property portfolio. The Singapore-listed real estate, hospitality and resources company generated a net profit of S$14 million for the three months ended September, up from S$11.9 million for the corresponding period a year ago.