SG Morning Highlights | SIA and Scoot to Purchase 1,000 Tonnes of Green Jet Fuel from Neste's Tuas Refinery

Singapore shares opened lower on Tuesday. The $FTSE Singapore Straits Time Index(.STI.SG)$ rose 0.05 percent to 3304.93 as at 9:03 am.

$SIA(C6L.SG)$: Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost arm, Scoot, will purchase 1,000 tonnes of green jet fuel from Finnish energy giant Neste, marking the first time that Neste will supply the fuel directly to airlines at Changi Airport instead of through an intermediary. Made from renewable waste and residue raw materials, the greener fuel will be blended with conventional jet fuel by Neste according to the required safety specifications and delivered to SIA and Scoot planes via Changi Airport's existing fuel hydrant system. The purchase is a small fraction of what the airline group uses in a year, but it marks the first step taken by SIA towards achieving its target of having sustainable aviation fuel form 5% of its overall fuel consumption by 2030. The use of sustainable aviation fuel has been touted as the most promising solution to lower the aviation sector's carbon emissions in the near term, with claims that it can reduce flight emissions by up to 80% when compared with traditional fuel.

$PARAGONREIT(SK6U.SG)$: Paragon Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) reported a 3% YoY growth in its Q1 gross revenue to $73.8 million, driven by its Singapore-based shopping centres, Paragon and The Clementi Mall, which posted a 4.2% and 7.4% rise in gross revenue, respectively. The remaining Singapore property, The Rail Mall, and its two Australian shopping malls, Westfield Marion and Figtree Grove, however, saw relatively flat gross revenue. The Reit's Q1 tenant sales in Singapore rose 1.4% to $236.9 million, with all three malls in the city-state posting a 100% occupancy rate as of March 31. The Reit's gearing stood at 29.9% as of March 31, with a 4.57% average cost of debt and 3.4 times interest cover.

$AIMS APAC Reit(O5RU.SG)$: AIMS APAC REIT reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 9.36 cents for the FY2024 ended March 31, down 5.9% YoY due to the enlarged unit base after the REIT's equity fund raising (EFR), which was completed in July 2023. However, gross revenue rose by 5.9% YoY to $177.3 million, driven by higher portfolio occupancy, strong positive rental reversions, and high tenant retention rates. Net property income (NPI) was up by 6.9% YoY to $131.0 million, while distributable income rose by 3.8% YoY to $74.3 million. The REIT's overall portfolio occupancy stood at 97.8%, while weighted average lease expiry (WALE) stood at 5.1 years. The REIT plans to undertake targeted upgrades to meet the occupational requirements of its master and anchor tenants and is considering new asset enhancement initiatives, redevelopment, and acquisition opportunities in the next financial year.