Singapore stocks fall amid disappointing earnings, STI down 1.2%

SINGAPORE – Investors here ignored Wall Street’s heroics to focus on local corporates – and they did not like what they saw.

Disappointing results at Genting Singapore and Venture Corp helped send the Straits Times Index (STI) down 1.2 per cent or 38.03 points to 3,184.91 on Feb 23. Losers routed gainers 326 to 252 on trade of 1.7 billion shares worth $1.3 billion.

The STI’s biggest loser was Genting Singapore, off 9.7 per cent to 93 cents after a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter. Core net profit fell 5 per cent year on year and 41 per cent quarter on quarter to $127.1 million.

DBS analyst Jason Sum cited “an unforeseen surge” in bad debt losses, adding: “The rise in bad debt losses stems primarily from management’s strategy of extending credit to VIP gamblers.

“The group adheres to a conservative accounting policy, whereby bad debts are recorded if payments are not received within a specified period, irrespective of the potential for future collection.”

Venture Corp was another loser, down 2.7 per cent to $13.72.

CGS-CIMB analyst William Tng noted that its full-year net profit was below a Bloomberg consensus, while its pre-tax margin also fell due to declines in revenue and a higher cost base from inflationary conditions.

“We reiterate our ‘add’ call on Venture, given its 5.32 per cent dividend yield and potential for earnings per share growth,” he added.

Emperador was the only STI counter in the black, gaining 1 per cent to 50.5 cents.

Regional bourses were mixed despite big gains on Wall Street on the back of bumper results from tech giant Nvidia. The S&P 500 rose 2.1 per cent, its best day in a year, the Nasdaq shot up 3 per cent, also its biggest one-day jump in over a year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.18 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.2 per cent, while Seoul’s Kospi gained 0.1 per cent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.1 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES