Stocks to watch: Singtel, Yoma, Memories, Ley Choon, Yangzijiang, TalkMed, Jawala, Aspial

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

Singtel: Singtel's second quarter net profit plunged 77 per cent to S$667 million from the previous year. This was due to a net exceptional loss of S$48 million, comprised mainly of staff restructuring costs, compared to a net gain of S$1.94 billion in the year-ago period which came mainly from the sale of units in NetLink Trust in the last corresponding quarter.

Yoma Strategic: Led by growth in its real estate business, net profit for Yoma Strategic Group's second quarter grew by more than seven times to S$26.2 million from S$3.7 million the preceding year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday morning. For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue climbed 26.5 per cent to S$41.9 million from S$33.1 million the previous year.

Memories Group: Myanmar-focused tourism player Memories Group, posted a net loss of US$1.7 million for the second quarter ended Sept 30 from a net loss of US$713,000 in the year ago period mainly due to increased administrative expenses from acquisitions and cost of sales. For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue surged to US$255,000 from US$3,000 the previous year.

Ley Choon: Ley Choon Group said on Wednesday night that it expects to report a net loss for its fiscal second quarter ended Sept 30. The loss is due mainly to the decrease in revenue owing to the completion of certain projects as well as fewer ongoing projects. The financial results will be released on or about Nov 14.

Yangzijiang: Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has posted a net profit of 778.6 million yuan (S$154 million) in the third quarter, down 10 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the three months ended Sept 30 was 5.37 billion yuan, up 23 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The group also booked an impairment loss of 333 million yuan on financial assets, higher than the impairment loss of seven million yuan in the third quarter last year.

TalkMed: Talkmed has posted a net profit of S$7.6 million in the third quarter, up 7 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the three months ended Sept 30 was S$16.2 million, up 15.3 per cent owing to a higher number of patient visits.

Jawala: Malaysian timber company Jawala said on Wednesday night that an officer-in-charge at CIMB Bank had verbally informed the group on Monday that its subsidiary, Jawala Plantation Industries (JPI), has had its main bank accounts suspended by the authorities. Jawala, which was listed on the Catalist board via an initial public offering in June, said it is in the midst of seeking clarification on the suspension of JPI's bank accounts.

Aspial Corp: Property developer and jeweller Aspial Corp has made a net profit of S$18.7 million in the third quarter, up from S$70,000 in the same period a year earlier, boosted by revenue from development projects in Singapore and Melbourne. Revenue in the three months ended Sept 30 rose 217.2 per cent to S$347 million. Earnings per share was 0.97 Singapore cent from 0.004 cent in the third quarter last year.