Stocks to watch: Genting Singapore, ComfortDelGro, Venture, Golden Agri, SingPost, Centurion, Sasseur Reit

[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Thursday (May 15).

Genting Singapore: The company said its chief executive officer Tan Hee Teck will step down. He will also retire from his position as Resorts World Sentosa chairman and CEO on May 31. Tan was appointed CEO of Genting in May 2022. He first joined the Genting Group in 1982 and held several senior positions in various geographical regions. The counter closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.735 on Wednesday.

On Wednesday (May 14), Genting Singapore also announced its financial results for the first quarter ended Mar 31. Net profit after taxation tumbled 41 per cent to S$145 million, from S$247.4 million the year before. 

ComfortDelGro: The transport behemoth posted a 19 per cent rise in its net profit to S$48.3 million for the first quarter ended March on contributions from last year’s acquisitions and improved margins. It said in an update on Wednesday that revenue rose 16.4 per cent year on year to S$1.2 billion; operating costs climbed at a slower pace of 15 per cent. The mainboard-listed company was confident that its cabbies would not jump ship to Grab. At the Apr 22 annual general meeting, the transport operator’s group chief executive Cheng Siak Kian sought to assure shareholders about the loyalty of its own taxi drivers. ComfortDelGro shares were 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$1.52, before the business update was released.

Venture Corp: The technology-solutions provider reported a 7 per cent decline in net profit to S$55.9 million for the first quarter of 2025, from S$60.1 million in the year-ago period. Revenue fell 7.5 per cent to S$616.6 million, from S$666.7 million. Group revenue declined largely due to lower demand in the company’s lifestyle consumer technology domain, where it improved the reliability and longevity for a customer’s key products through research and design innovation; this led to lower product replacement, the group said in a bourse filing on Wednesday. The shares of Venture closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.06 higher at S$11.27, before the announcement.

Golden Agri-Resources: The palm oil company reported on Thursday a net profit of US$55 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, up 47 per cent from US$37 million in the previous corresponding period. This was driven by stronger plantation output and an appreciation in the price of crude palm oil. Revenue rose 19 per cent to US$3 billion, from US$2.6 billion in the year-ago period. Shares of Golden Agri-Resources closed flat at S$0.245 on Wednesday.

First Resources: The palm oil company posted a net profit of US$63.1 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2025, sharply up 74.9 per cent, from US$36.1 million in the previous corresponding period. This was partially due to a 33 per cent increase in sales to US$280 million. The improved financial performance came on the back of higher average selling prices and an increase in overall sales volume achieved by the group, said First Resources in a bourse filing on Thursday. The counter closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$1.46 on Wednesday.

Singapore Post (SingPost): The company’s net profit for the second half ended Mar 31 surged 232.7 per cent to S$222.5 million, from S$66.9 million in the corresponding year-ago period. This came largely from an exceptional gain from the disposal of its Australia business. Following this sale, the group proposed a special dividend of S$0.09 per share. Excluding the net exceptional gain, SingPost’s underlying net loss for H2 stood at S$461,000, from a net profit of S$28.1 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was down 12.1 per cent at S$387.5 million from S$440.6 million previously, the group said on Thursday. SingPost shares closed 1.6 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.635 on Wednesday.

Bumitama Agri: The palm oil plantation company posted on Thursday a 51 per cent rise in net profit to 495.9 billion rupiah (S$38.9 million) for the first quarter of 2025, from 328.4 billion rupiah in the previous corresponding period. Revenue for the quarter rose 18.6 per cent year on year to 4.6 trillion rupiah, from 3.9 trillion rupiah. Bumitama Agri attributed the rise to higher commodity prices and improved palm production during the quarter. The company announced a final dividend amounting to S$0.0544 per share. Shares of Bumitama Agri closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 lower at S$0.755 on Wednesday.

Centurion: The dormitory and student accommodation operator’s revenue rose 13 per cent to S$69 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, from S$61.1 million in the year-ago period. This was driven by positive rental revisions across markets and strong financial occupancies in both Singapore and the United Kingdom. Revenue from the purpose-built worker accommodation segment grew 15 per cent to S$53.4 million from S$46.2 million; revenue from its purpose-built student accommodation segment rose 2 per cent to S$15 million from S$14.7 million. Shares of Centurion closed S$0.01 or 0.8 per cent down at S$1.25 on Wednesday.

Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust (Sasseur Reit): The manager of the Reit posted that rental income for the first quarter ended March rose 1.6 per cent year on year to 175.4 million yuan (S$32.5 million), from 172.6 million yuan in the previous corresponding period. However, rental income was 0.2 per cent lower in Singapore dollars, mainly due to the depreciation of yuan against the Singapore dollar, the manager said on Thursday. Units of Sasseur reit closed 1.6 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.64 on Wednesday.

Oiltek: The vegetable and edible oil processing company’s Q1 net profit rose 22.1 per cent to RM5.4 million (S$1.6 million), from RM4.4 million the year before. Revenue fell 5.1 per cent to RM46.7 million due to weaker numbers from the edible and non-edible oil refinery, and the product sales and trading segments. This was partially offset by an increase in revenue for the renewable energy segment. Shares of Oiltek closed 3.5 per cent or S$0.02 higher at S$0.59 on Wednesday.

Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit): It posted a portfolio occupancy of 69.9 per cent for its first quarter ended March, down from 73.9 per cent in the previous quarter. The manager of the pure-play US office Reit said that this was largely due to the expiry of leases at its Diablo property in the submarket of Tempe, Arizona. Notable leases executed over the quarter included the Phipps’ and Centerpointe’s new leases of 27,000 square feet (sq ft) and 29,000 sq ft, respectively. Units of the Manulife US Reit closed 1.6 per cent or US$0.001 lower at US$0.063 on Wednesday.