Keppel Reit

Lower contributions from several properties took a toll on results for office landlord Keppel Reit in its third quarter. Distribution per unit slipped 2.9 per cent to 1.36 cents from 1.4 cents in the year-ago period, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing yesterday.

That came as third-quarter income available for distribution slipped 1.4 per cent to $46.3 million from the year-ago period. For the three months ended Sept 30, gross revenue fell 9.4 per cent to $36.7 million from the preceding year. Net property income fell 10.9 per cent to $28.2 million from the preceding year.

These were due to lower contributions from Ocean Financial Centre, 275 George Street and 8 Exhibition Street, partially offset by higher property income and net property income from Bugis Junction Towers.

The group's total return before tax for the quarter was $24.6 million, compared to $40.1 million a year ago, mainly due to lower net property income from the three properties, lower rental support, lower share of results of associates and joint ventures, higher borrowing costs, net foreign exchange differences, and net change in fair value of derivatives.

Keppel Reit units finished $0.02 or 1.8 per cent up at $1.14 yesterday before the results were announced.

Nico Steel

Mainboard-listed Nico Steel Holdings saw net profit jump to US$121,000 (S$167,000) for the half-year ended Aug 31, 2018 from about US$1,000 a year ago on increased production and sales of its metal alloy materials, which command a higher gross profit margin, the company announced yesterday.

Revenue rose 30.8 per cent to US$8 million from US$6.1 million in the year-ago period though the gains were partially offset by higher operating expenses and foreign exchange losses. Earnings per share was 0.005 US cent, from essentially nil in the previous year.

Nico Steel executive chairman and president Danny Tan said that Nico's customised metal alloys are gaining acceptance in the consumer electronics market, and the company expects the growing trend of high-speed data transmission to drive demand for its multi-functional metal alloys.

Nico Steel's metal alloys made up 32 per cent of revenue for the first half of FY2019, and revenue from such products increased 72 per cent year on year. The remaining 68 per cent of its revenue come from its customised solutions business, which drew 17 per cent more revenue than it did a year ago.