SG Morning Call | Singapore Stocks Open Lower; Seatrium H1 Net Profit Jumps 158% to S$373 Million on Asset Sales, Higher Margins

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday. $Straits Times Index(STI.SI)$ fell 0.5%; $Seatrium Ltd(5E2.SI)$ rose 2.3%; $NIO Inc.(NIO)$ rose 1.8%.

Stocks in Focus

$JMH USD(J36.SI)$: The multinational company on Thursday reported 9 per cent growth in underlying profit for the first half ended Jun 30 to US$735 million, from US$676 million in the previous corresponding period. The board declared an interim dividend of US$0.65 per share, up 8 per cent from US$0.60 in H1 2025. Shares of Jardine Matheson closed 0.6 per cent or US$0.40 lower at US$67.59 on Thursday, before the release of its results.

$Great Eastern(G07.SI)$: The insurer on Friday posted a 103 per cent jump in net profit to S$503.2 million for its second quarter ended Jun 30, up from S$248.2 million in the previous corresponding period. This was mainly due to higher insurance operating profit. An interim dividend of S$0.35 per share was declared for the half year. Shares of Great Eastern closed 0.1 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$21.50 on Thursday.

$HongkongLand USD(H78.SI)$: The property group’s Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund is buying Wheelock Place from Wharf Real Estate Investment Company for S$1.1 billion, in the fund’s first acquisition since its inception earlier this year, it announced on Thursday. The deal, expected to complete by end-August, will lift the fund’s assets under management to S$9.4 billion from S$8.2 billion. Shares of Hongkong Land ended Thursday 0.6 per cent or US$0.05 higher at US$8.34, before the news.

$Jardine C&C(C07.SI)$: The investment holding company on Thursday proposed a special dividend of around US$0.73 per share, comprising a cash distribution and an in-specie distribution of its remaining Toyota Motor shares. The cash payout of US$0.37 a share is funded by Jardine’s divestments of Tokyo-listed Toyota shares in April, while the distribution-in-specie of around 7.2 million common shares of Toyota is valued at around US$0.36 a share. Shares of JC&C ended 0.8 per cent or S$0.23 higher at S$28.33 on Thursday, before the news.

$Mapletree PanAsia Com Tr(N2IU.SI)$: The trust’s distribution per unit fell 2.5 per cent to S$0.0196 for its first quarter ended Jun 30, from S$0.0201 in the previous corresponding period. Revenue was down 5.6 per cent at S$206.5 million for the period, from S$218.6 million in the year-ago period. Units of MPACT closed flat at S$1.36 on Thursday, before the results were released.

$Seatrium Ltd(5E2.SI)$: The marine and offshore specialist’s net profit for the first half ended Jun 30 surged 158 per cent to S$373 million. Revenue for H1 2026 rose 4.7 per cent to S$5.6 billion, the group said on Friday. Basic earnings per share stood at S$0.1101 a share, compared with S$0.0426 a share in the same period the prior year, and no dividend was declared for the half year. Shares of Seatrium fell 1.9 per cent or S$0.04 to close at S$2.12 on Thursday.

$Frasers L&C Tr(BUOU.SI)$: The manager of FLCT on Thursday recorded positive rental reversions of 8.2 per cent on an incoming versus outgoing basis, in the third quarter ended Jun 30. On an average versus average basis, the trust booked positive rental reversions of 17.9 per cent. The counter ended Thursday flat at S$1, before the announcement.

SG Local News

Seatrium H1 net profit jumps 158% to S$373 million on asset sales, higher margins

Seatrium’s net profit for the first half ended Jun 30 surged 158 per cent to S$373 million from S$144 million in the year-ago period, driven by asset divestment gains and improving margin efficiency.

Excluding one-off divestment gains, net profit grew 54 per cent year on year to S$212 million, up from S$138 million in H1 2025. The marine and offshore specialist issued a positive profit guidance last week, causing its counter to rise 8.9 per cent.

Revenue for H1 2026 rose 4.7 per cent to S$5.6 billion, from S$5.4 billion in the corresponding period the year before, supported by steady execution of its order book, the company said on Friday (Jul 31).

Hongkong Land’s Singapore private fund buys Wheelock Place for S$1.1 billion

Hongkong Land’s Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF) is buying Wheelock Place from Wharf Real Estate Investment Company for S$1.1 billion, in the fund’s first acquisition since its inception earlier this year.

The deal, expected to complete by the end of August, will lift the fund’s assets under management (AUM) to S$9.4 billion from S$8.2 billion – a step towards its target AUM of S$15 billion.

Hongkong Land said on Thursday (Jul 30) that the acquisition “aligns with the group’s strategy of growing recurring earnings and expanding its fund management platform”.