The following companies saw new developments that may affect the trading of their securities on Monday (Aug 21):
Singapore Telecommunications reported on Monday a 23% decline in first-quarter net profit, citing the one-off impact at Bharti Airtel in Nigeria as the naira depreciated sharply against the U.S. dollar, as well as high costs. Its net profit for the quarter ended June 30 was S$483 million ($355.91 million), compared with S$628 million a year earlier.
SBS Transit has been re-awarded the tender to operate Bukit Merah Bus Package for the second term in a row, making it the third bus tender award it has won under the new bus contracting model. The contract will run for five years, and can be extended by between two and five years. It is made up of 17 bus services, including two cross-border services to Johor Bahru.
Cost cuts helped Creative Technology narrow losses in its latest half-year results, but macroeconomic challenges cast a pall on the full-year showing of the home-grown electronics maker. For the second half ended June 30, Creative posted a US$6.1 million (S$8.3 million) net loss, an improvement from the year-ago loss of US$12.2 million.
Analysts from RHB Bank Singapore give their opinions on all three Singapore banks, following the 2QFY2023 ended June earnings season. RHB analysts have remained “neutral”, citing United Overseas Bank (UOB) as their sole buy with a target price of $31.70.
Analysts at RHB are less upbeat on the prospects of Singapore’s banks, noting that the 2QFY2023 results were “a slight beat”, mainly on a stronger-than-expected performance by DBS Group Holdings.
They note that the sector’s overall net profit during the 2QFY2023 was down 3% q-o-q mainly on a 56% q-o-q rise in loan allowances – pre-emptive provisions were booked in by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and UOB.
All three banks had also declared interim dividends, with an absolute dividend per share (DPS) for 1HFY2023 of 25% - 43% y-o-y. They note that DBS also shared that it can return a further $1.20/share to shareholders in the coming years as part of its capital management plan.
