SG Morning Highlights | EnterpriseSG, IFC to spur financing of Singapore enterprises in emerging markets

Advancers / Decliners is 74 to 77, with 128.05 million securities worth S$74.07 million changing hands.

The dollar edged lower against the euro and sterling on Friday (Feb 17), as the market readjusted ahead of the weekend and awaited clues on how the Federal Reserve plans to continue tackling still-high inflation.

Several Fed officials signalled last week that the US central bank likely has to raise interest rates higher to bring inflation back to its desired levels.

That hawkish speak coupled with hotter-than-expected economic data has led some banks to forecast three additional rate hikes this year.

Keppel DC Reit and Mapletree Industrial Trust were also among the three best performing STI stocks in the week with total returns of 1.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, just after Yangzijiang Shipbuilding at 4 per cent total returns.

CapitaLand Ascendas Reit (CLAR) in its full year FY2022 results reported 10.3 per cent year-on-year (yoy) growth in gross revenue to S$1.35 billion, mainly attributed to contributions from a built-to-suit development in Singapore and newly acquired properties during FY2021 and FY2022. In 2022, CLAR completed S$223.4 million worth of acquisitions, and funds were deployed into the logistics sector in the US and Australia.

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to spur further investment and project, trade, and supply-chain finance for Singapore enterprises in emerging markets.

Activities will include joint outreach and business-matching to connect Singapore enterprises with other governments and private-sector companies.

There will also be initiatives to reduce risks and capital constraints for financial institutions and enterprises, said both parties on Friday (Feb 17).

This represented a four-fold increase year on year, although January's passenger capacity was down 2.7 per cent month on month, SIA noted in a bourse filing on Wednesday (Feb 15).

In January, SIA said it continued to see strong passenger traffic and load factors across all route regions, including East Asia. During the month, the airline resumed services to Guangzhou, China, while Scoot resumed services to Balikpapan, Indonesia.

Net profit for the three months fell to S$12.8 million, down 61.4 per cent from S$33.2 million in the corresponding period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings fell to S$0.0114 in Q3 FY23, from S$0.0296 in Q3 FY22.

The lower net profit came amid higher group expenditure, mainly due to the absence of wage support. SIAEC said in its business update on the Singapore Exchange that this was the first quarter since the pandemic with no wage support.

Earnings per share for the half year stood at S$0.0315, down from S$0.0588 previously. This was despite revenue rising 21.6 per cent to S$455.7 million, from S$374.7 million the year before.

In a bourse filing on Friday (Feb 17), the group said the decline in net profit mostly stemmed from foreign exchange losses amounting to S$56.6 million, with several foreign currency contracts maturing in FY2022.

The company said in a bourse filing that net profit for the six months ended Dec 31, 2022 fell to S$5.1 million, down from S$8.4 milliion in the year-ago period. On a per share basis, earnings fell to S$0.0126 in H2 FY22, down from S$0.0238 in H2 FY21.

A final cash dividend of S$0.0125 per share was proposed, down from the final dividend of S$0.028 per share in the year-ago period. The dividend is payable May 18, 2023.

Revenue climbed up by 44.6 per cent to S$97.6 million, from S$67.5 million a year earlier.

In a business update on Friday (Feb 17), the mainboard-listed company noted that this was fuelled by revenue growth in both its general and project segments.