Asia stocks looked set for a mixed start to trading Friday as investors mulled the latest coronavirus developments and news that the Federal Reserve will dial back its liquidity injections. Treasuries nudged higher.
Futures were flat in Hong Kong and Australia, and fell in Japan. The S&P 500 Index closed lower for the first time this week as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it will shrink its repurchase-agreement operations more than analysts expected. Earlier, the World Health Organization said a surge in coronavirus diagnoses didn't necessarily indicate a spike in infections, boosting risk appetite. The pound gained after Sajid Javid quit as the U.K.'s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
CATALIST-LISTED building solutions company ISOTeam's second-quarter earnings got a boost from government grants, according to unaudited results on Thursday. Net profit was up 24.1 per cent year-on-year to S$1.65 million for the three months to Dec 31, 2019, even as revenue slid by 22.6 per cent to S$35.5 million on the back of a sharp drop in contributions from the core addition and alteration works segment.
MAINBOARD-LISTED aviation services provider Sats has warned that its short-term financial performance could take a hit from the deadly Covid-19 epidemic, while turning in a fall in third-quarter earnings on the back of higher staff, raw material and other costs. Net profit was down 13.9 per cent year-on-year to S$59.3 million for the three months to Dec 31, 2019, even as revenue grew by 17.6 per cent to S$545.6 million.
MAINBOARD-LISTED contract manufacturer Hi-P International, hit last year by both a tech-related trade war and a cyclical drop in the global electronics industry, saw its fourth-quarter earnings halved, according to unaudited results released on Thursday. Net profit fell to S$22.4 million for the three months to Dec 31, 2019, down from S$44.8 million in the same period the year before, with revenue down by 10.2 per cent to S$396.9 million.
CATALIST-LISTED UnUsUaL Ltd, the concert promotion and event production spin-off of mm2 Asia, saw third-quarter earnings improve on higher revenue from the promotion business, according to unaudited results on Thursday. Net profit grew 15.5 per cent for the three months to Dec 31, 2019 to S$3.52 million, as revenue surged 66.4 per cent from S$15.9 million to S$26.5 million.
MAINBOARD-LISTED builder Lum Chang Holdings' second-quarter earnings were lifted by more construction work, as well as bank interest income and currency gains against an earlier loss. Net profit rose 34.3 per cent year-on-year to S$4.04 million for the three months to Dec 31, 2019, as revenue more than doubled from S$43.6 million to S$92.9 million, according to results on Thursday.
Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR