Stocks to watch: Keppel, Sats, Aims Apac Reit, Sabana Reit, GS Holdings, Metech

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 Friday (July 19):

Keppel Corporation: The conglomerate posted a 38.4 per cent drop in net profit to $153.4 million for its second quarter ended June 30. The fall in its bottom line was due to the absence of gains from en bloc sales of development projects. In spite of that, the property division was the top earnings contributor. Keppel Corp declared an interim dividend of eight Singapore cents per share for the first half of FY2019, payable on Aug 6. This is lower than the 10 cents it declared for H1 FY2018. Keppel Corp shares ended at $6.59 on Thursday, down 11 cents or 1.6 per cent before the results were released.

Sats: A weaker global economy put a dent in the airport and food services provider's first-quarter net profit, which fell 14.4 per cent from a year ago to $54.7 million. Revenue was up 5.8 per cent to $465.1 million, though growth in the gateway services and food solutions segments was partially offset by lower cargo revenue. Cargo volume handled was 1.6 per cent lower, due to "global trade uncertainties", Sats said on Thursday evening after the market closed. Sats shares fell eight cents or 1.48 per cent to $5.32 on Thursday before the results were released.

Aims Apac Reit: The real estate investment trust (Reit) has secured a master tenant for its property at 3 Tuas Avenue 2, its manager said in a filing on Thursday evening. A US-headquartered medical device company will occupy the entire premises of some 268,000 square feet. The tenant has committed to a 10-year master lease on a triple net lease basis, with rental escalations every two years during the initial term. Units of AA Reit ended one cent or 0.68 per cent lower at $1.46 on Thursday before the announcement.

Sabana Reit: The former tenant of Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust's (Sabana Reit) property at 10 Changi South Street 2 is paying a total sum of $2.99 million as a full and final settlement following a lease termination. This will see the former tenant Adviva Distribution paying the full amount to Sabana Reit's trustee, the Reit said on Thursday night. The lease termination date was also brought forward to July 18 from Dec 12, following a mutual agreement by both parties. Sabana Reit units closed unchanged at 45.5 cents on Thursday.

GS Holdings: The Catalist-listed dishware washing firm expects to report a "significantly higher" net profit for the first half ended June 30, 2019, as compared to the same period a year ago, based on a preliminary review of its unaudited financial results. This is mainly due to the receipt of service fees from 14 branding, operation and procurement (BOP) service agreements entered into by a subsidiary, GS Holdings said on Thursday after the market closed. Its shares fell 6.06 per cent or two cents to $0.35 on Thursday.

Metech International: The e-waste management firm called for a trading halt on Friday morning before the market opened, pending the release of an announcement. Its shares closed 6.6 per cent or 1.1 cents higher on Thursday at 17.7 cents. On Wednesday, its shares also rose 5.7 per cent or 0.9 cent to close at 16.6 cents.

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