SINGAPORE (Aug 23): Recruitment firm HRNetGroup is expanding into other countries to make up for Singapore’s shortcomings both as a small state as well as in the face of a slowing economy.
The group saw its 2Q earnings fall 11.5% to $11.5 million from $13.0 million the preceding year, on the back of lower margins from its flexible staffing segment.
SINGAPORE (Aug 13): Technology solutions provider Frencken Group has emerged one of the rare manufacturing companies that delivered growth in 2Q19, even as many of its peers in the manufacturing sector companies saw their profits tumble amid geopolitical tensions and a slowing economy.
Earnings for the 2Q19 ended June came in at $11.1 million, a significant 58.7% hike from $7.0 million in the same quarter last year.
2Q19 revenue increased by 11.5% to $164.3 million, from $147.4 million a year ago, spearheaded by a 16.7% growth in revenue from the Mechatronics Division.
KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Mar 12): The euphoria following Malaysia’s historic election last May has faded, leaving its stock market as Asia’s only one in the red this year.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index has fallen more than 1% so far in 2019, the only decliner in the region, while neighboring Singapore has surged 4% and Indonesia gained 3%. The trend is unlikely to change as investors wait for Malaysian government initiatives to cut the budget deficit, clamp down on corruption and boost purchasing power.
SINGAPORE (Jan 28): RHB Research and Maybank Kim Eng are maintain their “buy” ratings on Cache Logistics Trust (CLT) with the respective price targets of 81 cents and 85 cents, after the trust’s 4Q18 DPU dipped 5.9% to 1.502 cents due to lower net property income (NPI).
OCBC Investment Research, on the other hand, has downgraded its call from “buy” to “hold” with the downward revision of its fair value estimate to 76 cents from 78 cents previously.
SINGAPORE (Jan 15): RHB is maintaining its “buy” call on ST Engineering (STE) with a $3.97 target price, which implies 4% yield.
In a Tuesday report, analyst Shekhar Jaiswal says he expects STE to see a revival of profit growth due to increased capacity and capabilities in the Aerospace segment; delivery of smart city-related contracts both within and outside of Singapore; as well as defence-related contracts.
SINGAPORE (Nov 5): RHB Research and OCBC Investment Research are maintaining their “buy” calls on Venture Corp while lowering their target price and fair value estimate to $19 and $20.13, from $22.20 and $23.23, respectively.
SINGAPORE (Sept 27): RHB is highlighting Ho Bee Land as a potential REIT and privatisation candidate with a sustainable 4% yield.
At the share price of $2.50, the stock is trading at a deep 48% discount to its latest book value of $4.78 per share, in line with the 30-60% discount seen among its mid-cap developer peers.
In an unrated report on Wednesday, analyst Vijay Natarajan says he believes there is room for this discount to narrow given Ho Bee’s minimal exposure to Singapore residential properties and healthy recurring income base.
SINGAPORE (Sept 11): RHB Research is maintaining “neutral” on the real estate sector with a flattish price outlook for 2H18, and expectations that primary transactions will decline 10% y-o-y in 2018 with no near-term catalysts for players with larger exposure to the local residential sector.
The research house’s top “buy” pick is CapitaLand with a target price of $4, as it expects the stock to see minimal impact from the recent property cooling measures implemented by the Singapore government.
SINGAPORE (Aug 10): RHB Research is maintaining “neutral” on Centurion Corp with a target price of 47 cents on expectations of a 3.4% FY18F dividend yield.
This comes after Centurion’s 2Q18 results met the research house’s estimates, posting 15% lower earnings of $9.1 million in the absence of contributions from the group’s Westlite Tuas dormitory, which ceased operations in Dec 2017.
SINGAPORE (Aug 7): RHB Research is maintaining its “overweight” stance on Singapore’s banking sector with “buy” ratings for both United Overseas Bank (UOB) and DBS at target prices of $33.30 and $30.30, respectively.
In a Monday report, analyst Leng Seng Choon notes that 2Q18 results came generally in line with expectations, with “respectable” sequential growth in net interest income mainly driven by loan expansion.
