Singapore stock preview: Singtel, Thai Beverage, Mapletree

• Singtel share price slid 3.7% last Friday (14 May 2021), after it reported impairment charges of nearly US$700 million in previous investments
• Thai Beverage PCL share price rose on Monday on the back of higher dividend per share for H1 2021
• Mapletree Commercial Trust share price also climbed in early trading after pledging its commitment to helping retail tenants tide through new Covid-19 restrictions
• Buy and sell Singapore stocks with an IG account

Singtel (SGX: Z74)

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) revealed on Friday morning that it booked non-cash impairment charges of US$438 million and US$250 million against its investments in advertising-technology provider Amobee and cybersecurity firm Trustwave, respectively, for the second half of its financial year ended 31 March 2021.

This was amid ‘rapid shifts in the fast-moving digital marketing and cybersecurity industries and economic shocks’ from the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected Amobee and Trustwave’s ability to scale, Singtel said.

It thus started a strategic review of both US-based businesses to ‘sharpen the group’s focus and ensure that these assets are positioned for growth’.

Meanwhile, its Australian telco subsidiary, Optus, will make non-cash impairments and write-downs of A$197 million, mainly for Optus’ legacy fixed-access networks.

Overall, net exceptional losses for the Singtel group are expected to come in at S$839 million for the second half and S$1.21 billion for the full fiscal year.

Singtel’s stocks closed 3.7% lower following the update. Shares are trading at S$2.33 as at 10:50 SGT on Monday (17 May 2021).

Thai Beverage (SGX: Y92)

Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) generated sales revenue amounting to 59.46 billion Thai baht in the second quarter of 2021, a decrease of 3.2% year-on-year. The group attributed the decline to the impact of a new wave of Covid-19 cases in Thailand in the first three months of the year.

Net profit, however, came in 1.2% higher for the quarter at 6.54 billion baht, against the 5.58 billion baht recorded in the same period a year prior.

Across the first half of 2021 (H1 2021), revenue was 131.252 billion baht, a decrease of 4.3% year-on-year.

Net profit rose 8.7% year-on-year to Baht 16.08 million baht in H1 2021.

ThaiBev’s board of directors has declared an interim dividend per share (DPS) amount of 0.15 baht for the period October 2020 to March 2021, to be paid out on 11 June 2021.

The DPS for H1 2021 represents a 50% increase from H1 2020’s payout.

Thai Beverage shares are up 1.5% on Monday morning.

Mapletree Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU)

As Singapore re-imposes restrictions and tightens more measures under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from 16 May 2021 to 13 June 2021 to stem the community spread of Covid-19, Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) says it ‘stands ready to support its retail tenants in tiding through the disruptions’.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, MCT has implemented multiple support packages comprising more than S$70 million of rental rebates to help eligible retail tenants offset on average more than four months of their fixed rents.

The company claims that this is one of the most comprehensive tenant support packages in the market aimed at helping impacted retail tenants directly.

Currently, MCT’s properties have also implemented wide-ranging health and safety protocols to protect its tenants, shoppers and employees. Examples include stepping up cleaning frequencies, setting up TraceTogether-only SafeEntry systems to facilitate digital contract tracing, and deploying disinfecting robots and thermal scanning systems to minimise human contact.

MCT shares rose 2% in early trading on Monday following the announcement.

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