SG Morning Highlights | Venture Corp H1 Profit Down 19.7% to S$140 Million on Lower Revenue, Demand

Advancers / Decliners is 99 to 72, with 91.84 million securities worth S$94.47 million changing hands.

Singapore's local banks retained resilient results for the second quarter of 2023 as they continued to benefit from higher net interest income due to high interest rates.

The market had previously expected net interest margins (NIMs) to be past their peak. But additional rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, and current expectations that rates will stay higher for longer, renewed the positive outlook on the banks' NIMs for the rest of 2023.

The three banks all warned of slowing economic growth. But they also named their wealth management segments as bright spots, which they expect can drive growth in the future.

Revenue for the period was down 11.9 per cent to S$1.6 billion from S$1.8 billion.

The company attributed the "weaker set" of financial results for the period under review to softening demand across a majority of its technology domains, as well as the destocking of customers' inventory. It added that this was also against a high base last year.

It said that its revenue per available room (RevPAR) for its Singapore portfolio rose to S$283 in Q3 from S$225 in the year-ago period. Its nine-month RevPAR figures have come in at S$281, up from S$159 in FY2022's period and S$244 in 2019's nine-month period.

Average daily rate (ADR) for the nine months ended Jun 30 rose 60.7 per cent, and occupancy was up 6.9 percentage points as Singapore's tourism sector continued its recovery. FHT added that the return of "marquee events" in Singapore had also contributed to the improved figures.

Revenue in the same period was $459.9 million, down from $515.3 million reported for 3QFY2022.

This brings 9MFY2023 earnings to $48.8 million versus $60.2 million recorded for 9MFY2022.

The weaker bottomline showing came despite an 85 per cent increase in revenue for the period to S$78.7 million, which the group chiefly attributed to the consolidation of First Reit and other medical partners, as well as higher contributions from the Wuxi Lippo Xi Nan hospital and the China pharmaceutical distribution business.

The increase in revenue for Wuxi Lippo Xi Nan hospital came from an increase in demand for outpatient services and medical check-ups, while that for the China pharmaceutical business was due to higher sales of biologic products.