Stocks to watch: ST Engineering, CapitaLand, SIA, Magnus, Yanlord, UOL

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

ST Engineering: Third-quarter net profit for Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) went up by 5 per cent  as improved bottom-line contributions from aerospace, electronics and land systems more than offset declines seen in two other divisions. ST Engineering posted a net profit of S$134.59 million for the three months ended Sept 30, compared to S$127.82 million for the corresponding quarter the year before. Earnings per share for Q3 was 4.32 Singapore cents, up from 4.11 Singapore cents for the year-ago period.

CapitaLand Limited: Property developer CapitaLand Limited on Wednesday posted a 13.6 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter, on the back of higher operating profit and gains from asset recycling. Net profit rose to S$362.2 million from S$318.8 million a year ago, as operating profit improved 13.3 per cent to S$233.7 million from S$206.3 million on contributions from newly acquired and opened investment properties in Singapore, China and Germany.

Singapore Airlines: Higher jet fuel costs and recognition of its share of losses in 20 per cent-owned Virgin Australia (VAH) led national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) to post a more than fivefold dip in net profit to S$56 million for the second quarter from a restated profit of S$293 million a year ago. Operating profit slid 35 per cent for the three months to September to S$233 million as expenditure clicked higher by nearly 10 per cent mainly from fuel cost and capacity injection which overshadowed a 5.6 per cent jump in revenue to S$4.06 billion from a year ago.

Magnus Energy Group: Catalist-listed Magnus Energy Group has settled a lawsuit brought against it for alleged wrongful termination by its former managing director Charles Madhavan, following mediation on Nov 8. Magnus Energy will pay an undisclosed settlement sum to Mr Madhavan by Nov 21. He will in turn formally discontinue the legal claim filed on June 22 in the State Courts. Magnus Energy, which has a core business in oilfield equipment supplies and services, will not have any legal exposure arising from the litigation as a result of the settlement.

Yanlord Land Group: Real estate developer Yanlord Land Group recorded a 61.3 per cent increase in its third-quarter profit, on the back of significantly more gross floor area sold and higher average selling price per square metre. The China-based developer reported 1.01 billion yuan (S$201 million) in net profit for the three months ended September, up from 627.5 million yuan for the corresponding period a year ago. Earnings per share rose to 52.41 fen from 32.41 fen.

UOL Group: UOL Group posted an 85 per cent decline in third-quarter group net profit to S$92.8 million from S$609.2 million for the year-ago period. The drop was due mainly to the S$535.6 million gain recognised in Q3 FY2017 upon the consolidation of United Industrial Corporation (UIC) from Sept 1, 2017. Excluding the one-off gain in Q3 FY2017, net profit rose 5 per cent to S$92.8 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018, UOL said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday evening.

Golden Energy and Resources: International coal mining and trading company Golden Energy and Resources reported a 50.2 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter, as earnings jumped from US$9.9 million to US$14.9 million. This was mainly due to higher revenue from the coal mining and coal trading divisions. Revenue increased 59.9 per cent to US$286.7 million from US$179.3 million year-on-year.

Hotel Properties: Hotel Properties reported third-quarter earnings of S$21.9 million, 48.1 per cent lower than the S$42.2 million recorded a year ago. This is the result of lower contributions from its property division as well as associates and jointly controlled entities. Earnings per share for the listed group was 3.87 Singapore cents for the three months ended September, also down from 7.78 Singapore cents year-on-year.

LTC Corporation has requested a trading halt, pending the release of an announcement.