Jan 30: SMRT, SingTel, CDL Hospitality Trusts, Starhill Global REIT

Stocks in Singapore ended on a mixed note on Tuesday. The Straits Times Index declined 0.43%, or 14.16 points, to end at 3,259.75. Here are some stocks to watch this Wednesday morning.

SMRT Corp's net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2012 fell 31.2% to $25.5 million despite a 5% rise in revenue to $281.7 million. The rail operator, which also operates buses and taxis, blamed higher operating expenses and significantly higher bus losses for the drop in profit.

Singapore Telecommunications said it has agreed to sell its entire 30% stake in Pakistan's Warid Telecom to a unit of the Abu Dhabi Group for US$150 million ($185 million). "Excluding the value of any future transaction interest, the estimated loss on disposal will be $230 million, including the foreign currency translation losses and transaction costs," SingTel said in a stock market filing.

CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) posted a distributable income per unit of 2.90 cents for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2012, down 1.4% from the same period a year earlier. Distributable income for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2012 was flat at $31.24 million.

Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) posted an income available for distribution of $24.88 million for the fourth quarter ended December 2012. This was a 12.1% improvement over that of the previous year. Income to be distributed to unit-holders grew 11.9 per cent to $21.96 million from a year ago, to give a distribution per unit (DPU) of 1.13 cents.

IPC Corporation posted a 30.8% increase in year-on-year net profit to $4.77 million for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2012 despite a 61.1% tumble in revenue to $17.07 million.

Ipco International is placing 90 million new shares at 2.052 cents apiece to raise $1.85 million. The placement shares will represent 1.894% of the enlarged issued share capital after the placement. The company said it is undertaking the proposed placement to raise funds for working capital purposes and short-term investments.

 

Feb 6: SembMarine, Artivision, Swiber

Singapore stocks are set for a strong start after better-than-expected jobs data from the United States pushed Tokyo and Seoul shares more than 1% higher on Monday.

Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index gained 0.58 % on Friday to 2,917.95 points. Here are some stocks and factors to watch, said Reuters and Bloomberg:

Sembcorp Marine, the world’s second largest rig-builder, may be in focus after it said it has secured a US$792.5 million ($987 million) contract to build a drillship for Sete Brasil, a unit of state-oil firm Petrobras SA.

Artivision Technologies, a Singapore firm that specialises in online video advertising, said on Sunday its technology may be incorporated into a software kit being developed by Intel Corp.

Oil and gas firm Swiber Holdings said it has secured contracts worth a total of around US$216 million for offshore construction projects and vessel chartering services in Southeast Asia and South Asia. The company also said that its Middle East joint venture has won a contract valued at over US$38 million for vessel chartering services in the Middle East.

Ascott Residence Trust Management said on Friday that Chong Kee Hiong had resigned as chief executive officer with effect from today. Ronald Tay Boon Hwee will replace him subject to approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Singapore Exchange said on Friday its securities daily average value of $1.3 billion in January was 47% higher than December 2011, but down 27% from a year earlier.

SMRT Corp. said a unit agreed to buy bus operator Beijing National Express Passenger Transportation Co. for 30 million yuan ($6 million).

IPC Corp. said full-year net income fell to $3.65 million from $4.82 million.

Global Yellow Pages said 3Q net income fell to $12.3 million from $15.2 million.

Second Chance Properties said 2Q net income rose to $3.56 million from $2.96 million. The company also proposed a 1-for-1 free bonus warrants issue, priced at 40 cents each, which would raise $220.2 million to $280.1 million if fully exercised.

China Essence Group said it expects to post loss in fiscal 3Q on potato starch price.

Sino Construction said it expects losses announced in first 9 months of the year to continue.