Stocks to watch: JMH, JSH, Jardine C&C, Keppel, Genting, AEI, Broadway, XMH, KLW

The Singapore Exchange Centre in Shenton Way. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their shares on Monday (Aug 5):

Jardine Matheson Holdings (JMH), Jardine Strategic Holdings (JSH): JMH and JSH both reported slightly lower earnings for the six months ended June 30. JMH's underlying profit attributable to shareholders fell 3 per cent year-on-year to US$738 million, reflecting the loss of earnings from Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) after the group divested its stake in April this year. However, profit surged 152 per cent to US$2.25 billion as the sale of the stake in JLT to Marsh & McLennan reaped a net gain of about US$1.5 billion. Meanwhile, JSH, which also released its results on Friday, registered a 1 per cent dip in underlying profit attributable to shareholders to US$779 million. Profit was 75 per cent higher at US$1.66 billion, lifted by a non-trading net gain from the sale of its interest in JLT. Shares in JMH were down 73 cents at US$60.85 at Friday's close, while JSH shed 36 cents to US$34.64.

Jardine Cycle & Carriage: The regional Mercedes-Benz distributor's underlying earnings survived a tough second quarter at key subsidiary Astra, largely on an improvement in corporate costs, according to financial results released on Friday. Underlying net profit, stripped of non-trading items, rose by 6.2 per cent year-on-year to US$206 million for the three months to June 30, as revenue slipped by 2.3 per cent to US$4.44 billion. Meanwhile, net profit surged to US$115.1 million, more than triple the US$37.7 million in the period before, largely on lower fair-value losses on agriculture produce and other investments. The counter shed $0.02 or 0.06 per cent to $33.50 on Friday before the results were released.

Keppel Corp: The Alpha Data Centre Fund, managed by Keppel Capital's wholly owned unit Alpha Investment Partners, has acquired a 3,840 square metre plot of freehold land in Gore Hill Technology Park to develop a data centre in Sydney, Australia. Keppel Capital is the asset management arm of the Keppel group. Construction of the facility will take place over three phases with Phase I shell and core, as well as the initial fit-out slated to be completed by the first half of 2021, Keppel Corp said on Monday. Keppel Corp shares closed at $6.10 on Friday, down 3.2 per cent, or $0.20.

Genting Singapore: The mainboard-listed company which owns Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has posted a net profit of $168.4 million for the second quarter, down 5 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The decline might have been sharper, if not for the high rolling win percentage in the VIP rolling business that provided some buffer against the slowing economy. Earnings per share for the half-year ended June 30 was 3.1 cents, down 5 per cent from 3.28 cents in the first half last year. Genting Singapore shares fell two cents or 2.17 per cent to $0.90 on Friday before results were announced.

Hupsteel: The offeree circular relating to the founding Lim family's voluntary conditional cash offer for Hupsteel has been despatched to shareholders, the steel trader said on Friday. The circular, which contains the advice of independent financial adviser Asian Corporate Advisors and the recommendation of the independent directors, also said the offer price, which is final, represents a premium of 51.9 per cent over the last transacted price of $0.79 on June 27, being the last full market day immediately prior to the offer announcement. The counter closed at $1.18 on Friday, down one cent.

AEI Corporation: The aluminium producer has flagged that it expects to report a loss for HY2019, owing to soft demand and depressed market pricing. AEI added that it will provide further details of the group's performance when it announces its unaudited financial results for the period ended June 30. The counter closed unchanged at 66.5 cents on Friday.

Broadway Industrial Group: The mainboard-listed precision manufacturer on Monday said it has appointed Tan Choon Hoong, 56, as its chief executive officer (CEO). Mr Tan holds a deemed interest of 0.04 per cent, or 200,000 ordinary shares in Broadway Industrial, via the shareholding of his spouse, details from an exchange filing shows. Broadway Industrial shares closed at 4.9 cents on Friday, down 7.6 per cent, or 0.4 cent.

XMH Holdings: The provider of diesel engine, propulsion and power generating solutions warned on Friday that it could be placed on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) watch list after it recorded three consecutive years of pre-tax losses. XMH's average daily market cap as at Aug 1 for the last six months was about $20.5 million. The counter closed unchanged at 16 cents on Friday.

KLW Holdings: The door-maker warned over the weekend that it expects to post a net loss for the first quarter ended June 30, 2019. Based on the preliminary review of its draft financial results for Q1 FY2020, the group said the losses are mainly due to decline in revenue from the door business. Further details of the group's performance will be given when the group releases the financial results on or before Aug 14. The counter closed at 0.2 cent on Friday, down 0.1 cent.

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