Stocks to watch: Sakae, Far East H-Trust, Jumbo, ThaiBev, No Signboard, Raffles Education

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

Sakae Holdings: Sakae returned to profitability in 2017, posting a fourth-quarter net profit of S$99,000 as the food and beverage group cut administrative and other operating expenses. The group made a net loss of S$5.3 million in Q4 2016. For the three months ended Dec 31, 2017, earnings per share (EPS) stood at 0.15 Singapore cent, up from a loss per share (LPS) of 2.24 cents a year ago. The stock last traded at 21 Singapore cents on Feb 8.

Far East Hospitality Trust: Far East H-Trust's fourth-quarter distribution per stapled security slipped to 0.97 Singapore cent from 1.12 Singapore cents a year ago, amid a slight decline in occupancy rates and revenue per available room. For the three months ended Dec 31, gross revenue shrank 6.6 per cent to S$25.7 million year-on-year, while net property income slipped 7 per cent to S$23.1 million. Far East H-Trust units closed S$0.01 or 1.4 per cent down at S$0.715 on Wednesday.

Jumbo: Seafood group Jumbo saw a near 20 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit to S$2.1 million for Q1FY18, owing to increased expenses. Revenue rose 9.3 per cent to S$35.75 million on the back of higher contributions from its outlets in Singapore and China, while EPS dipped from 0.4 Singapore cent per share to 0.3 cent. The counter closed at 57 Singapore cents on Wednesday, down half a cent.

Thai Beverage: The Thai spirits maker has posted a first quarter net profit of 2.91 billion baht (S$122 million), down 62.3 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The fall was largely due to non-recurring business acquisition costs of 2.35 billion baht from the four acquisitions it completed in the first quarter. The counter closed unchanged at 91 Singapore cents on Wednesday before results were announced.

No Signboard Holdings: No Signboard's net profit for the first quarter jumped about 56 per cent year-on-year to S$1.44 million. Revenue increased 2.9 per cent to S$4.14 million in Q1 FY18, which included new revenue streams from its beer business. EPS clocked 0.31 Singapore cent, up from 0.2 cent a year ago. The company has declared a special dividend of 0.31 Singapore cent per share, payable on March 5. The counter last traded at 19.9 Singapore cents apiece on Wednesday.

Raffles Education Corp: Raffles Education has narrowed its second-quarter net loss to S$1.4 million, from a loss of S$3.9 million last year. For the three months ended Dec 31, revenue crept up one per cent from the previous year to S$24.6 million. LPS narrowed to 0.14 Singapore cent from a LPS of 0.4 Singapore cent in the preceding year. The stock closed down 1.5 Singapore cents, or 6 per cent to 23.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday.