SG Morning Highlights | SIA Posts Record H1 Earnings of S$1.4 Billion

Singapore shares opened lower on Wednesday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ lost 0.79 per cent to 3,148.84 as at 9.11 am.

$SIA(C6L.SG)$: Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Tuesday (Nov 7) posted 55.4-per-cent-higher net profit of S$1.4 billion for the first six months of its financial year ended Sep 30, from S$926.9 million a year earlier. This comes on the back of an 8.9 per cent rise in revenue over the same period to S$9.2 billion, from S$8.4 billion last year. The higher net profit came amid a 15.3 per cent year-on-year fall in net fuel costs to S$2.3 billion for the half-year period.

$Seatrium(S51.SG)$: Seatrium posted a net order book of S$17.7 billion as at Sep 30, 148.9 per cent higher than the S$7.1 billion it reported, as Sembcorp Marine, a year earlier. Projects related to renewables and green solutions contributed to about 40 per cent of the net order book, said the offshore and marine group in a business update on Wednesday (Nov 8). The order book includes new contract wins of S$4.3 billion secured in the year, with 33 projects under execution till 2023.

$Keppel Reit(K71U.SG)$: Keppel Reit has priced S$200 million notes with a fixed coupon rate of 3.72 per cent per annum due 2026, the Reit manager announced in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Nov 7). The Series 006 notes are expected to be issued on Nov 15 at an issue price of 100 per cent in denominations of S$250,000. Interest on the notes will be payable semi-annually. DBS has been appointed the sole lead manager and bookrunner of the offering of the Series 006 notes.

$EC World Reit(BWCU.SG)$: EC WORLD Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit)’s distribution per unit (DPU) fell 32.8 per cent to 0.916 Singapore cent for its third quarter ended Sep 30, from 1.364 cents a year ago. Gross revenue for the China-focused e-commerce logistics landlord was down 9.5 per cent to S$27 million for the quarter, from S$29.8 million a year ago. Net property income (NPI) was down 8.5 per cent to S$24.7 million, from S$27.1 million a year ago. This was mainly due to a weakening of the renminbi against SGD by 8.7 per cent year on year and straight-line rental adjustment, offset by organic rental escalations and higher late fees, the Reit manager said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Nov 7).

$Prime US ReitUSD(OXMU.SG)$: Reit's distributable income for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2023 fell 23.4 per cent to US$14.7 million from US$19.2 million a year ago, said the manager on Tuesday (Nov 7) in a business update. Net property income fell 3.3 per cent to US$23.4 million, from US$24.2 million in the corresponding year-ago period. Gross revenue was down 0.9 per cent to US$40.2 million, from US$40.6 million a year ago. The real estate investment trust (Reit) manager said it has elected to receive its full base fee for FY2023 in cash. This is opposed to its previous arrangement of 20 per cent in cash and 80 per cent in the form of units.

$Lendlease Reit(JYEU.SG)$: Lendlease Global Commercial Reit recorded a committed portfolio occupancy of 99.9 per cent for the first quarter ended Sep 30, unchanged from the previous quarter. Weighted average lease expiry stood at eight years when adjusted by net lettable area and 5.3 years when adjusted by gross rental income. The counter closed 0.9 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.555, before the business update.

$Nanofilm(MZH.SG)$: The nanotechnology solutions provider posted a 29 per cent year-on-year decline in group revenue to S$128 million for the nine months ended Sep 30, 2023. It noted that the operating environment for Q3 continued to be challenging, exacerbated by macro headwinds and the dampening of overall consumer sentiment. Nanofilm shares closed down 6.3 per cent or S$0.065 at S$0.965 on Tuesday, before the annoucement.