Mapletree Logistics Trust CEO raises interest by S$1.31 per unit

Institutions were net sellers of Singapore shares in the five trading sessions to August 1, with a net outflow of institutional capital of S$115 million, following a similar pace of net outflows of S$95 million in the previous five sessions to July 26.

In the five sessions to August 1, 11 listed companies also carried out share buybacks totalling S$6.4 million.

singapore airlines (SIA) led the buybacks over the five sessions, buying back 500,000 shares at an average price of S$6.26 per share. This was the first buyback under the current buyback mandate, after the previous mandate saw one million shares bought back between March 8 and April 15.

The company noted that the highest and lowest prices paid for one million shares were S$6.44 and S$6.35 per share respectively, while the total amount paid for all purchases was S$6,405,469, excluding fees and taxes.

Prior to these acquisitions, SIA last repurchased its shares on the open market in September 2016. SIA’s Board maintains that it is committed to increasing shareholder value and share repurchases are one of the strategic methods used to achieve this. In addition, a share repurchase program is in place to effectively manage and mitigate any potential dilution effects associated with employee share ownership programs.

Digital Core Reit Management also acquired units Digital Core Real Estate Investment Fund (Reit) during each of the five sessions.

The leaders in the net outflow of institutional funds over the five sessions were SIA, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings), DBS, Keppel, UOB, Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) Frencken Group, City Development Ltd., Raffles Medical Group AND Hong Kong Land Holdings.

Meanwhile, Single, Singapore Stock Exchange, CapitaLand Integrated Mutual Fund, CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, Keppel DC Reit, Seat, Venture Corp, Suntec Reit, Wilmar International AND Jardine Cycle & Carriage led the inflow of institutional capital.

Singtel also recorded the largest net inflow of institutional capital in 2024 to August 1, followed by UOB, OBC, ST Engineering and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

During the five trading sessions, 70 directors and major interests filed applications for almost 40 listed stocks. Directors or CEOs filed applications for nine acquisitions and no divestitures, while major interests filed applications for four acquisitions and three divestitures.

Mapletree Logistics Trust

On July 30, MLT Management non-executive chairman and director Lee Chong Kwee acquired 134,000 units of the Reit at S$1.31 per unit. This increased his direct stake in MLT to 200,000 units.

Lee serves on the Board of Mapletree Investments, serves as Chairman of the Transaction Review Committee and is a member of the Executive Resources and Remuneration Committee. His previous roles include CEO Asia Pacific at Exel (Singapore), Non-Executive Chairman of Jurong Port and Corporate Counsel to Temasek.

Following the release of MLT’s financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (ended June 30) on July 24, the price-to-book ratio returned to below one standard deviation from the 12-month average.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, the manager highlighted that MLT’s proactive capital management and geographically diversified portfolio helped to mitigate the impact of higher borrowing costs, depreciation of regional currencies and China’s economic challenges.

This resulted in a slight decline in MLT’s gross revenue in Q1 FY2025 of 0.3 per cent year-on-year to S$181.7 million. Higher borrowing costs, which increased by 9.4 per cent to S$38.5 million, and lower sales profit reduced the income available for distribution to unitholders by 7.4 per cent year-on-year to S$103.7 million.

The manager also highlighted that the quarter delivered strong operational results, with 95.7% occupancy and 2.6% positive rental returns. MLT continued to rejuvenate its portfolio, completing acquisitions in Malaysia and Vietnam and announcing or closing more than S$44 million in sales in Malaysia, Singapore and China during the quarter.

As of June 30, 2024, MLT’s portfolio of logistics properties and real estate-related assets comprised 188 properties in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam, with assets under management of SGD 13.4 billion.

Lee also maintained in June that MLT intends to focus on executing its portfolio rejuvenation strategy through acquisitions, asset additions and selective divestitures in fiscal 2025.

On July 22, Ng Kiat resigned as CEO and executive director of MLT Manager, and was succeeded by Jean Kam. Kam contributed significantly to MLT’s portfolio strategy and growth for 17 years, holding key positions such as CEO of Singapore, head of asset management and head of investment. Ng served as CEO of the manager for 12 years before joining Mapletree Investments. During her tenure as CEO of the manager, MLT delivered an annual total return of 8.6 percent to its unitholders.

Raffles Medical Group

On July 31, Raffles Medical executive and independent director Sarah Lu acquired 250,000 shares in the group at an average price of S$0.95 per share. Acquired through S&D Holdings, it increased her deemed stake in the company from 3.38 per cent to 3.4 per cent.

Dr Lu was first appointed as a director of Raffles Medical in February 2018, during which time she maintained a 3.24% deemed stake in the company. Dr Lu is also the daughter of Executive Chairman and Independent Director Loo Choon Yong.

Raffles Medical on July 29 reported revenue of S$365.7 million and net profit of S$30.6 million for the first half of its 2024 financial year (ended June 30). The figures represent a 1.4 per cent drop in revenue and a 48.8 per cent drop in net profit compared with the same period last year, attributed to the winding down of Covid-19-related measures.

Bakery technology

Bakery technology (Baker Tech) and its subsidiaries are key players in offshore equipment and services, serving the oil, gas and renewable energy sectors. It specializes in the design, construction and operation of offshore units and vessels, as well as the creation of essential offshore equipment such as cranes, winches and wind turbine equipment. The Group also provides engineering, project management and quality control services.

Earlier this year, Baker Tech CEO Wong Meng Yeng offered an outlook for the industry, maintaining that strong balance sheets are causing oil companies to reconsider investments in exploration and production, which in turn leads to significant capital plans.

He noted that Petronas, for example, has more than 45 upstream projects and decommissioning plans underway. Wong maintained that this activity is expected to boost demand for offshore support, including platforms and vessels; and given the recent shortage of new construction, the group maintained that 2024 is poised for higher charter hire and vessel valuations.

Baker Tech said on July 29 that its revenue for the first half of its 2024 financial year (ended June 30) rose by S$13 million, or 33 per cent, to S$52.4 million compared with the same period last year. The increase was mainly due to an increase in revenue from charters and spare parts sales, with higher vessel utilisation and a contribution from third-party managed vessels.

Net profit increased significantly to S$13 million in the first half of FY2024 from S$1.5 million in the same period last year. The increase is attributed to increased charter activities in line with revenue growth, as well as reduced administrative costs, mainly due to the absence of expected credit loss provisions.

The group also attributed higher foreign exchange gains to its net profit as the US dollar strengthened against the Singapore dollar by about 3 per cent in the first half of FY2024 compared with 1 per cent in the same period in the previous year. Profit attributable to shareholders was S$11.9 million for the first half of FY2024, up from S$4.1 million in the previous year.

For context, in FY2023 and FY2022, net profit attributable to shareholders was S$8.3 million and S$13.4 million, respectively. The group’s cash position at 30 June was S$98.3 million, compared with S$87.5 million at end-2023, having gradually increased from S$28.9 million at end-2018.

Over the past 10 years, Baker Tech CEO Benety Chang has gradually increased his total ownership from 48.17 percent to 55.85 percent. Dr. Chang had a distinguished tenure at Baker Tech, serving as director and CEO since May 2000. He stepped down as CEO in late 2018 but remains as executive director.

As a major shareholder, Dr. Chang was re-elected as a director in April 2023. In addition, he holds the position of CEO and Executive Director of CHO, a subsidiary of Baker Tech. With extensive experience in the offshore oil and gas industry, Dr. Chang was also a founding key shareholder and CEO of PPL Shipyard until July 2012.

The author is a market strategist at the Singapore Exchange (SGX). To read SGX market research reports, visit sgx.com/research