The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) gained 0.1% to 3,206 points today. 18 shares within the index’s 30 constituents made some headway, while 10 shares lost ground.
Let’s take a look at some shares that ended the day with bigger gains than the index.
Casino and resort operator Genting Singapore (SGX: G13) rose after releasing its third quarter earnings yesterday evening, putting on 1% to S$1.53. The company saw a 16% year-on-year growth in quarterly revenue to S$777m as its profits jumped by two-thirds to S$223m.
Genting commented that “both the gaming and non-gaming business segments performed better” in its flagship business in Singapore Resorts World Sentosa. The company also mentioned that it is “monitor[ing] with great interest the legislative passage of the Integrated Resort Execution Law in Japan” as it seeks to expand in the gaming, leisure/entertainment and hospitality sectors in the Asian region.
Sarin Technologies (SGX: U77) gained 0.8% to S$1.915, likely on earnings-related news as well. The company develops and manufactures advanced planning, evaluation, and measurement systems for diamond and gemstone production.
It reported third quarter earnings on Monday and blew through the numbers as revenue for the quarter surged 48% year-on-year to US$17.4m while profits grew 22% to US$3.08m.
The company said that its third quarter results “once again vindicate [its] strategy to focus on recurring revenue models, as the quarter evidences how this strategy has helped to mitigate the volatility associated with the sales of capital equipment.”
Despite the positives in Sarin Technologies’ quarterly earnings, the company did sound out concerns regarding the diamond industry in India, where the bulk of its revenues are generated. The company commented that the Indian currency’s devaluation against the US dollar as well as policies aimed at tightening credit “continue to not bode well for the diamond industry in India.”
Finally, we have ARA Asset Management (SGX: D1R), which went up by 3% to S$1.875 today. Straits Trading Company (SGX: S20), or STC for short, recently became a 20% owner of ARA in a strategic alliance.
ARA, a real estate fund management company, would henceforth be managing STC’s entire investment property portfolio.
In addition, STC and ARA’s chief executive, John Lim, would be providing the real estate fund management company with up to S$950m of seed capital commitments to undertake new fund product launches by its private-fund-arm.
As my fellow Fool Sudhan wrote, “shareholders of both companies may see this as a win-win situation.”
Cosco - Cosco Corp crippled by 84% net profit drop
Despite 6% rise in revenue.
According to OCBC Investment Research, COSCO Corporation reported a 6% YoY rise in revenue to S$989.4m but saw an 84% drop in net profit to S$4.2m in 3Q13, such that 9MFY13 net profit accounted for 53% of our full year estimate.
Here's more:
The results also disappointed the street, as 9MFY13 net profit only made up 42% of the full year consensus figure of S$62.6m. Gross profit margin was only 7.4% in 3Q13 vs. 12.3% in 3Q12, mainly because of a S$33.9m provision for expected losses on construction contracts.
A S$15.8m provision was also taken for inventory write-down. This resulted in a net profit margin of 0.4% in the quarter vs. 2.8% in 3Q12.
Despite Sembcorp Marine (SMM) reporting a whopping 85.9% yoy fall in revenue to S$1.66b in 3Q13, the rigbuilder will likely continue seeing solid demand, according to an analyst comment from OCBC Investment Research.
"Customers of SMM continue to have positive comments on the outlook of the rig market in their latest earnings calls, and SMM’s management also expects demand from high spec and ultra-deepwater rigs to remain strong," said OCBC. Also, the steep drop in revenue failed to crimp on SMM's profit.
3Q13 saw a 12.3% rise in net profit to S$129.7m, staying within market expectations, albeit its operating margin during the quarter lowered a bit to 10.1% from 14.1% in the same period last year.
SATS Limited (SGX: S58), the leading provider of gateway services and food solutions for the airline industry in the region, saw a revenue dip of 2.0% for its second quarter of 2013 (2Q 2013). SATS serves airlines companies such as Singapore Airlines (SGX: C6L) and Tigerair (SGX: J7X).
The revenue went down to S$452.1 million in 2Q 2013 from S$461.5 million in the previous year. The revenue from gateway services rose 5.1% to $169.8 million while food solutions revenue declined 5.9% to $281 million, mainly due to lower revenue reported by TFK Corporation, arising from the weaker Japanese Yen. SATS Ltd acquired Japan Airlines International’s entire stake of 50.7% in TFK back in December 2010. The net profit was $48.7 million, 3.2% lower than that seen last year.
For the quarter, the company generated S$15.6 million in cash flow from operations versus that of S$35.6 million generated in the previous year. The dip in cash flow was mainly due to working capital changes.
As of 30th September 2013, SATS sits on a cash balance of $394.5 million. It has a total loan of $122.2 million and the debt-to-equity ratio is at a healthy 0.09 times.
For the half year ended 30 September 2013, Group revenue declined 1.4% year-on-year to $886.6 million while the net profit increased 3.6% to $94.9 million.
The company deems the operating environment to remain challenging due to “uncertain global economic climate and pressure on aviation industry profitability.” The company went on to say that, “Changi Airport’s air traffic statistics continue to suggest moderate passenger traffic growth and weak demand for air freight for the full year.”
SATS declared an interim dividend of 5.0 Singapore cents per share. The shares of the company exchanged hands at S$3.40 on Tuesday. The company is trading at a historical PE of around 20 and sports a dividend yield of 3.2%.
Olam - Olam sees global coffee prices bottoming out
(Reuters) - The global coffee market could find a floor around current levels as multi-year low prices prompt farmers to cut production, commodities trader and coffee supplier Olam International Ltd (OLAM.SI) said on Monday.
