SG Morning Call｜Singapore Stocks Opened Higher on Friday; ThaiBev Shares Gained 1% After Posting FY2024 Net Profit S$1.1 Billion

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Friday. STI was up 0.4%, ThaiBev up 1%, Lum Chang up 1.6%, BRC Asia up 2.5%, Seatrium up 2%.

Stocks to Watch

Thai Beverage (ThaiBev): The beverage company posted a net profit of 27.2 billion baht (S$1.1 billion) for its full year ended Sep 30, a slight drop of 1 per cent from 27.4 billion baht a year earlier. This comes as higher costs of living have dented the purchasing power of individuals, limiting consumer spending and affecting the domestic consumption of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Shares of ThaiBev closed 1 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.515 on Thursday, before the release of the results.

BRC Asia : The steel solutions provider posted an 11 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to S$55 million for its second half ended Sep 30. However, H2 revenue fell 21 per cent to S$723.1 million from S$909.9 million. This was mainly due to softening demand in the international trading business, in addition to lower steel prices for both the international trading business and domestic construction industry. The counter closed S$0.02 or 0.8 per cent higher at S$2.39 on Thursday, before the announcement of the results.

TSH Resources : The plantation company reported on Thursday a 12 per cent increase in net profit for the third quarter. Its net profit for the three months ended Sep 30 rose to RM33.1 million (S$10 million) from RM29.5 million in the year-ago period. However, the group’s revenue for the quarter was down 22 per cent on the year at RM231.9 million, mainly due to lower revenue from its palm products segment. The counter closed 2.9 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.355, before the announcement.

Lum Chang : The group proposed listing its interior fit-out business, Lum Chang Interior (LCI), on the Singapore Exchange’s Catalist board. LCI is a majority-owned indirect subsidiary of the company. At present, Lum Chang’s aggregate effective shareholding in LCI is 80 per cent, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lum Chang Asia Pacific. The remaining 20 per cent is held by LCI managing director and co-founder Lim Thiam Hooi. Shares in Lum Chang closed flat at S$0.305 on Thursday, prior to the announcement.

Trading halt: Union Steel : requested a trading halt on Friday morning after its shares ended the previous day flat at S$0.64.  

SG Local News

Singapore’s 2025 growth forecast at 1-3%; 2024 forecast upgraded to “around 3.5%”

Singapore’s official growth forecast for 2025 is between 1 per cent and 3 per cent, while the full-year growth forecast for 2024 has been upgraded to “around 3.5 per cent”, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Friday (Nov 22).

The latest forecasts come as Q3 year-on-year growth was revised upwards to 5.4 per cent, up from the earlier advance estimate of 4.1 per cent and accelerating from the 3.0 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

Singapore downgrades 2024 export forecasts again on weaker-than-expected recovery

Singapore has narrowed its 2024 full-year forecasts for both non-oil domestic exports (NODX) and total merchandise trade, on a worse-than-expected recovery in the beginning of the second half of this year. This was primarily due to volatile segments that could continue to drag Q4 performance.

NODX is now expected to grow by “around 1 per cent” year on year in 2024, narrowing from August’s forecast of a 4 to 5 per cent expansion, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) said in its quarterly review of trade performance on Friday (Nov 22). The official estimate was also lowered in that review, from a growth of 4 to 6 per cent.