SG Morning Highlights | Manufacturing Stocks in Singapore Record Weakest January Performance Since 2016

Moomoo News SG wrote a column · Feb 29, 2024 09:11

SG Morning Highlights | Manufacturing Stocks in Singapore Record Weakest January Performance Since 2016

Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's Singapore markets:

●Singapore shares opened higher on Thursday; STI up 0.31%

●Manufacturing Stocks in Singapore Record Weakest January Performance Since 2016

●Taylor Swift's Concerts Boost Singapore's Tourism with Surge in Bookings

●Stocks to watch: ST Engineering, Sats, First Resources

●Latest share buy back transactions

-moomoo News SG

Market Snapshot

Singapore shares opened higher on Thursday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index (.STI.SG)$ rose 0.31 percent to 3,148.78 as at 9.09 am.

Advancers / Decliners is 82 to 67, with 95.37 million securities worth S$89.60 million changing hands.

Breaking News

Manufacturing Stocks in Singapore Record Weakest January Performance Since 2016

The iEdge SG Adv Manufacturing Index, which is diversified across multiple sectors, recorded its weakest performance in January since 2016, with a decline of 6.4%, according to data from SGX. The weak performance of manufacturing stocks coincided with a 5.7% month-on-month decline in Singapore's January industrial production. Since the end of January, the iEdge SG Adv Manufacturing Index has added a marginal 1.1%, with two gainers for every three decliners among its constituents. The index has booked an overall net institutional inflow of $18 million for the year to February 26, with the rest of the Singapore stock market booking more than $800 million of net institutional outflow. The three index constituents of the industrial sector that have booked the highest net institutional inflow as of February 26 were Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, Singapore Technologies Engineering, and SATS, while the three constituents of the technology sector that have booked the highest net institutional inflow were Venture Corporation, Frencken Group, and UMS Holdings.

Taylor Swift's Concerts Boost Singapore's Tourism with Surge in Bookings

Taylor Swift's six-day The Eras Tour concert in Singapore from March 1-9 has led to a surge in Singapore-related bookings, with trip bookings rising by 275% compared to the same period two weeks later (March 15-23, 2024), according to Trip.com. Inbound flights to Singapore also rose by 186%, while accommodation and tour bookings increased by 462% and 2,373%, respectively. The average age of users making bookings during the Taylor Swift concert period was 33, slightly younger than the average of 37.2 for the March 15-23 period. Additionally, 48% of the users who made the bookings during the concert period were in the 21-30 age range.

Stocks to Watch

$ST Engineering (S63.SG)$: ST Engineering has reported a 19.9% year-on-year rise in net profit for the second half ended Dec 31, 2023, to S$305.9 million from S$255 million in H2 FY2022. The defence and engineering group attributed its bottom-line increase for the period to strong business growth, higher productivity, and cost savings. Revenue for H2 FY2023 rose by 9.9% to S$5.2 billion versus S$4.8 billion a year prior, largely due to higher contributions from the commercial aerospace segment, where revenue grew by 29% year-on-year to S$2.1 billion. Defence and public security revenue remained flat at S$2.1 billion in the absence of contributions from the recently divested US marine business. The urban solutions and satcom business registered a 4% year-on-year revenue growth to S$1.1 billion, due to contributions from transport solutions provider TransCore, which the group acquired last year. However, this was offset by weaker contributions from Satcom, though the group said transformation efforts since mid-2023 are "on course to drive better future performance."

$SATS (S58.SG)$: Sats, the in-flight caterer and ground handler, has reported a 41.9% quarter-on-quarter rise in net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2023, to S$31.5 million from S$22.2 million. The group attributed the performance improvements among its business units and a seasonally stronger quarter for cargo for the rise in net profit. There were also higher contributions from the group's share of earnings of associates and joint ventures, which stood at S$34.6 million for the quarter. For the same period, revenue rose by 6.5% to S$1.4 billion from S$1.3 billion in the previous quarter, as volumes improved on strong seasonal demand, particularly for Worldwide Flight Services' cargo performance. Sats said the number of flights handled and aviation meals served as at end-December returned respectively to 86% and 97% of pre-Covid levels, while cargo volume was 99% of pre-Covid levels on increased travel demand and seasonality factors.

$First Resources (EB5.SG)$: First Resources has reported a 62.5% year-on-year drop in net profit for its second half year ended December, to US$73.9 million from US$197.2 million in H2 FY2022. This came as profit from operations decreased by 57.7% to US$101.7 million from both lower average selling prices and a reduction in overall sales volume, the palm oil producer said. Earnings per share stood at US$0.0472 for the half-year, down from US$0.1254 the previous year. Sales slipped by 23% to US$531.8 million, reflecting weaker palm oil prices. A final dividend of S$0.037 per share was declared for the half-year, down from S$0.12 the year before. For the full year, net profit of US$145.4 million represented a decline of 55.3% against FY2022, with profit from operations down 52.6% to US$198.1 million. While its performance was dragged down by weaker palm oil prices, an improvement in the overall sales volume in the year partially offset the impact.

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