Stocks to watch: DBS, UOB, Wilmar, Sembcorp, Sembmarine, Singtel

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Thursday:

DBS: DBS on Thursday posted a 22 per cent fall in second-quarter net profit, dragged by further provisions and flat total income. Shares of DBS closed on Wednesday at S$19.83, up S$0.14 or 0.7 per cent.

United Overseas Bank (UOB): UOB on Thursday posted a 40 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit, hurt by weaker income and a surge in provisions. Shares of UOB closed on Wednesday at S$19.42, up S$0.11 or 0.6 per cent. 

Wilmar International: Wilmar is buying the iconic former Coca-Cola bottling plant in Tuas for S$29.5 million. Wilmar shares closed at S$4.81 on Wednesday, up S$0.15 or 3.2 per cent. 

Sembcorp Industries (SCI), Sembmarine (SMM): SCI and SMM are urging investors to vote in favour of a demerger from each other to address liquidity needs and unlock shareholder value. Both companies are due to hold their extraordinary general meetings on Aug 11. SCI shares closed at S$1.83 on Wednesday, up S$0.13 or 7.7 per cent, while SMM shares ended at 38.5 Singapore cents, up 4.5 cents or 13.2 per cent.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel): Singtel associate Bharti Airtel and Amazon Web Services will join forces to develop the Indian telecom firm's cloud business. Separately, Telkom Kenya said on Wednesday it was pulling the plug on its merger with Bharti's Kenyan unit. Singtel shares closed at S$2.42 on Wednesday, up S$0.02 or 0.8 per cent. 

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NetLink NBN Trust: Fibre-optic cable owner NetLink posted a 12.4 per cent increase in net profit to S$23.5 million for the first quarter ended June 30, even as its top line shrank with restricted manpower and access amid the Covid-19 pandemic. NetLink units closed at 97 Singapore cents on Wednesday, up 0.5 cent or 0.5 per cent, before the results announcement.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding: Yangzijiang posted a 17 per cent drop in net profit to 773.9 million yuan (S$154.5 million) for Q2 FY2020 ended June, as its top line took a hit from lower contributions from the trading business. Shares of Yangzijiang closed at 93.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday, up 2.5 cents or 2.8 per cent, before the results announcement.

Riverstone Holdings: The Malaysian glove maker posted a 119.3 per cent surge in net profit to RM137.5 million (S$45.27 million) for the six months ended June, driven by the spike in global demand for its healthcare examination gloves, clean-room gloves and face masks. Shares of Riverstone closed at S$4.21 on Wednesday, up S$0.22 or 5.5 per cent, before the results announcement.

Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit), ESR-Reit: The manager of ESR-Reit on Thursday said it does not intend to increase the offer price for its proposed merger with Sabana Reit. Sabana Reit units closed flat at S$0.38 on Wednesday, while ESR-Reit units ended at 38 Singapore cents, down 0.5 cent or 1.3 per cent. 

CSE Global: CSE Global, a tech-solutions provider to the oil and gas and mining industries, saw its earnings for the half year ended June 30 rise 47.7 per cent to S$15.1 million. This came on the back of contributions from its newly acquired units in the US and Australia. Shares of CSE closed flat at S$0.53 on Wednesday, before its results announcement. 

Singapore Airlines (SIA): With prolonged turbulence, SIA is likely to tap standby issuance of up to S$6.2 billion in mandatory convertible bonds, according to a report by UOB Kay Hian. SIA shares closed at S$3.45 on Wednesday, up S$0.08 or 2.4 per cent. 

Singapore Medical Group (SMG): SMG on Thursday posted a 49.5 per cent drop in net profit to S$3.5 million for its first six months ended June 30, 2020, from S$6.8 million a year ago. The counter closed flat at 25.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday.

Trading halts: Tuan Sing Holdings and QAF separately requested for trading halts on Thursday morning before the market opened, pending announcements. Shares of Tuan Sing closed at 27.5 Singapore cents on Wednesday, up one cent or 3.8 per cent, while shares of QAF ended at 78 Singapore cents, up 0.5 cent or 0.7 per cent.