Good morning moomooers! Here are things you need to know about today's Singapore:

• Singapore stocks rose in early trade on Friday; STI up 0.44%
  

• OCBC Q1 profit more than doubles to record S$1.5b

• Far East Orchard posts Q1 loss of S$700,000

• Medtecs Q1 net profit jumps to US$13.2 million as PPE demand 'remains elevated'

• Stocks to watch: Jardine Matheson, SPH, SingPost, Olam, Lendlease Global Reit, ESR-Reit

-Moomoo News SG

Market Trend

Singapore stocks rose in early trade on Friday, $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ rose 0.44 per cent or 13.82 points to 3,186.82 as at 9.40 am.

Breaking News

OCBC Q1 profit more than doubles to record S$1.5b

$OCBC Bank(O39.SG)$ on Friday said first quarter net profit more than doubled, as it joined its Singapore peers in hitting a new high in fee income while making a far smaller allowance compared with the year-ago period.

Net profit for the first three months ended March 31, 2021 stood at S$1.5 billion, compared with S$698 million in the year-ago period. Annualised earnings per share stood at S$1.35, up from S$0.62 in the year-ago period.

Far East Orchard posts Q1 loss of S$700,000

Mainboard-listed property player $Far East Orchard(O10.SG)$ sank into the red in the first quarter, as the Covid-19 pandemic battered its hospitality business.

Net losses came to S$700,000 for the three months to March 31, reversing earnings of S$900,000 in the year-ago period, the group said in a business update on Thursday.

Its revenue sank by 29 per cent year on year, to S$27.6 million, which Far East Orchard blamed in part on lockdowns in Australia and low tourist arrivals in Singapore.

Medtecs Q1 net profit jumps to US$13.2 million as PPE demand 'remains elevated'

Catalist-listed protective gear maker $Medtecs Intl(546.SG)$ more than tripled its first-quarter earnings year on year, as demand for its output "remains elevated".

Net profit rose to US$13.2 million for the three months to March 31, up from US$3.67 million in the year-ago period, according to unaudited results out on Thursday. Revenue rose 5.9 per cent on year, to US$42.2 million, amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

Stocks to watch

$JMH USD(J36.SG)$: The investment company said that its full-year outlook remains uncertain, despite progress for "most businesses"in its portfolio. The company still faces challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, it announced in an interim business update for the first quarter. Jardine Matheson, which is listed in London, Bermuda and Singapore, closed on Thursday at US$66.48, up by US$0.47 or 0.7 per cent.

$SPH(T39.SG)$: The media and property group, which publishes The Business Times, has proposed a restructuring involving a transfer of the media business to a not-for-profit entity, in the form of a company limited by guarantee. This structure will allow any future profits from the media business to be reinvested into the media operations rather than distributed to shareholders. SPH called for a trading halt on Thursday before the market opened. Its shares fell 1.1 per cent or S$0.02 on Wednesday to close at S$1.79. The trading halt has since been lifted.

$SingPost(S08.SG)$: The mainboard-listed postal service provider reported an e-commerce-dominated top line, with 65 per cent derived from the business. E-commerce accounted for 34 per cent of its domestic post and parcel revenue for the financial year to March, up from 21 per cent in the previous year. The counter closed 1.3 per cent or one Singapore cent lower at 74.5 cents on Thursday.

$Olam Intl(O32.SG)$: The mainboard-listed agri-food giant intends to be a technical partner in the privatisation of a Saudi flour mill. Olam is part of a consortium that last month won the bid to privatise state-owned Second Milling Company, which was sold for 2.13 billion riyals (S$750 million). Its shares closed on Thursday at S$1.70, up by S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent.

$Lendlease Reit(JYEU.SG)$: Its portfolio occupancy as at end-March stood at 99.7 per cent, down by a marginal 0.1 percentage point on year and unchanged from the previous quarter. According to the Reit manager in its Q3 business update on Friday, overall tenant sales for 313@somerset has recovered faster than visitation as shopper spending increased despite reduced footfall. Units of Lendlease Global Reit closed S$0.01 or 1.3 per cent higher at S$0.78 on Thursday.

$ESR-REIT(J91U.SG)$: Its private placement to raise around S$100 million as part of a fundraising exercise was 3.4 times subscribed, the manager said on Friday. It fixed the issue price at 37.2 Singapore cents per new unit, the lower end of the indicative range. The manager called for a trading halt before the market opened on Thursday. The units last traded at S$0.41 on Wednesday.

$SingHaiyi(5H0.SG)$, $Chip Eng Seng(C29.SG)$: A  joint venture consisting of subsidiaries from property developers SingHaiyi, Chip Eng Seng and Hong Kong-listed Chuan Holdings has won the collective sale tender for Maxwell House at a price of S$276.8 million. Shares of SingHaiyi closed flat at 6.9 Singapore cents on Thursday, while Chip Eng Seng ended flat at 44.5 cents.