SG Morning Highlights | Sea Posts US$143.9 Million Loss for Q3 2023 with Focus on E-commerce Growth

Singapore shares opened higher on Wednesday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ rose 1.03 per cent to 3,136.65 as at 9.16 am.

$ComfortDelGro(C52.SG)$: Land transport giant ComfortDelGro posted a 54.5 per cent rise in net profit to S$49.9 million for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2023, from S$32.3 million a year earlier. The company noted that its profit after tax and minority interests (Patmi) margin for the quarter rose to 5 per cent, from 3.4 per cent a year earlier. Revenue over the same period rose 3.8 per cent to S$996.6 million, from S$960.3 million a year ago. In a business update on Tuesday (Nov 14), the company noted that its public transport business improved as renewals and indexation in the UK continued to improve margins.

$SIIC Environment(BHK.SG)$: Wastewater treatment company SIIC Environment posted a 0.5 per cent rise in net profit to RMB206 million (S$38.5 million) for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2023, from RMB205 million a year earlier. Revenue over the same period rose 10.9 per cent to RMB2.3 billion, from RMB2.1 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share for the quarter stood at RMB0.08, from RMB0.0796 the year before.

$TheHourGlass(AGS.SG)$: Luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass on Tuesday (Nov 14) posted a 9 per cent fall in net profit for the first half of FY2024, as exchange rate movements hit its margins while revenue stayed flat. Net profit for the six months ended Sep 30 fell to S$77 million, from S$84.6 million in the year-ago period. On a per-share basis, its earnings fell 7 per cent to S$0.1171, down from S$0.1258 previously. The company nevertheless announced an interim dividend of S$0.02 per ordinary share, unchanged from a year earlier.

$LHN(41O.SG)$: Real estate services provider LHN Group warned that it expects to record a 23.8 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit, to no less than S$40 million, for the year ended Sep 30, 2023, from S$52.5 million a year earlier. In a bourse filing on Tuesday (Nov 14), the group attributed the lower profit estimate to a net fair value loss on its and its joint ventures’ investment properties in FY2023, compared with net fair value gain recognised in FY2022.

$Golden Agri-Res(E5H.SG)$: Palm oil company Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) posted a 25 per cent decline in net profit for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2023, to US$68 million from US$90 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue in Q3 2023 rose 5 per cent to US$2.5 billion, from US$2.3 billion in Q3 2022. In a business update on Tuesday (Nov 14), the company said its results remained firm, notwithstanding a normalisation in the price of crude palm oil (CPO) after it hit a record high in 2022.

$CityDev(C09.SG)$: City Developments Limited (CDL) has acquired a 261-unit freehold project in Manchester for £75.6 million (S$125.7 million). On Tuesday (Nov 14), the property developer said it will forward-fund the private rented sector (PRS) project, which will commence construction this month. Full planning permission was obtained in October for the project, which is slated for completion in 2026.