Stocks to watch: Sats, The Hour Glass, Japan Foods, Manulife US Reit
[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Monday (May 26).
Sats : The in-flight caterer on Friday reported net profit of S$38.7 million for the three months ended Mar 31, 2025, gaining 18.3 per cent from S$32.7 million in the corresponding year-ago period. This indicates earnings per share of S$0.026 for the quarter, compared with S$0.022 in Q4 FY2024. Revenue for the fourth quarter was S$1.5 billion, up 10.4 per cent year on year from S$1.3 billion, driven by growth in business volume and rate improvements. The group has proposed a final dividend of S$0.035 per share, which will be paid on Aug 15. This is higher than the final dividend of S$0.015 per share in the corresponding year-ago period. Shares of Sats ended flat at S$2.98 on Friday.
The Hour Glass : The retailer of luxury watches reported a 6 per cent drop in net profit to S$74.4 million in the six months ended March 2025, from S$79.5 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was at S$622.6 million, up 9 per cent year on year from S$571.3 million. Earnings per share stood at S$0.1148 for the half-year period, down from S$0.1217 previously. The luxury watch retailer said on Friday that for the full year, profits had been affected by increased operating expenses driven by inflationary pressures on rents and wages combined with a fair value adjustment on investment properties. Shares of The Hour Glass closed flat at S$1.61 on Friday, before the results were released.
Japan Foods : The restaurant operator on Sunday reported a loss of S$6.2 million for the second half year ended Mar 31, 2025, sinking further into the red from a loss of S$576,000 in the corresponding year-ago period. This comes as the group's revenue for the half year slid 7.5 per cent year on year to S$40.2 million, from S$43.4 million. The group attributed this to 'tough market conditions', as existing brands, including Yakiniku Shokudo, Ajisen Ramen and Menya Musashi, generated lower revenue. Loss per share for the period stood at S$0.036, compared to a loss per share of S$0.0033 in H2 FY2024. The group did not declare a final dividend, despite declaring a S$0.002 dividend per share in H2 FY2024. Shares of Japan Foods climbed 2.4 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.215 on Friday.
Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (MUST) : The manager of the Reit's US office on Friday announced it has received approval from lenders to extend the deadline for the disposal of assets by six months to Dec 31. The Reit will use US$25 million in cash, in addition to proceeds from the sale of a Class A office building Peachtree in Atlanta, US, to partially pare down debts due in 2026, 2027 and 2028. The extension will give MUST more time to meet obligations under the Master Restructuring Agreement. Units of MUST closed 1.6 per cent or US$0.001 higher at US$0.062 on Friday, before the announcement.
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Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Straits Times
Zoo animals, vaccines and more: Sats powers Paris air cargo hub at Charles de Gaulle
PARIS – Two lions and three golden monkeys passed through an air cargo facility at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on their way to a zoo in central France earlier this year . Besides live animals, the facility also handles other types of specialised cargo, such as pharmaceuticals and perishables like meat and milk. The facility is owned by Sats, the Singapore-listed air cargo handling services provider, and operated by its subsidiary Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), which it acquired in 2023. Following the €1.3 billion (S$1.9 billion) acquisition, Sats became the world's largest air cargo handler. The combined Sats-WFS network operates over 215 stations across 27 countries, covering trade routes that account for more than half of global air cargo volume. Mr Laurent Bernard, vice-president of WFS in France, said on June 3 that the country handled 1.3 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, with 70 per cent coming from Charles de Gaulle Airport. On June 4, the media toured the Paris cargo facility for the first time. Mr Bernard said Sats' acquisition has helped WFS expand its network, giving it a long-term vision and ability to invest in its business. Previously, WFS was 'very Europe-centric', he said. The company also saw growth in the US, but it lacked a significant footprint in Asia . World Flight Services staff loading a cargo crate onto an aircraft at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on May 4. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI With the acquisition, its reach is now truly global, strengthening its position to negotiate better deals with clients. 'When they are (negotiating) with us, they want a global deal. We can provide them the full package, and many stations (around the world), which is quite important,' Mr Bernard said. WFS was previously owned by a private equity firm whose focus was on 'making quick money in a short time', he said. Sats' acquisition has enabled the company to make investments in its business with a long-term perspective. For example, it is building a 20,000 sq m cargo facility in Lyon – about 460km south of Paris – that will include 7,000 sq m of temperature-controlled space. The building is expected to be ready by mid-2026. WFS has 120,000 sq m of warehouse space at Charles de Gaulle Airport , with roughly 20 per cent of this space dedicated to specialised cargo, Mr Bernard said. General cargo, which is still the company's main business, makes up the rest. Mr Laurent Bernard, vice-president of WFS in France, said Sats' acquisition has helped WFS expand its network, giving it a long-term vision and ability to invest in its business. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Outside Paris, WFS operates at 11 provincial airports across France, including those in Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, and Strasbourg. The media toured warehouses dedicated to three types of specialised cargo: e-commerce cargo , pharmaceuticals and shipments managed through freight forwarding. The e-commerce cargo is housed in a 5,000 sq m warehouse located less than 100m from the airside. This allows for fast and efficient cargo transfer, meeting the quick turnaround demands of airlines and freight forwarders aiming to make timely deliveries. E-commerce cargo is housed in a 5,000 sq m warehouse located less than 100m from the airside. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI It takes about an hour to unload a full plane, and after checks on-site, the cargo is picked up as soon as two hours later. Most of the cargo arriving at the e-commerce warehouse is from China. The 2,400 sq m pharmaceutical warehouse is temperature-controlled, with one part of the site kept at 15 to 25 deg C and a smaller section at two to eight deg C. The warehouse handles vaccines, insulin and medical devices that have to be kept at a certain temperature. Workers loading pharmaceutical cargo onto a van at the World Flight Services cargo facility at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The facility is temperature-controlled, and handles shipments of vaccines and other medicines that are temperature-sensitive. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Another specialised cargo service is freight forwarding, or the coordination and organisation of the movement of shipments on behalf of a shipper. Freight forwarding companies that do not have their own warehouses – usually smaller players – rent space at the WFS facility to consolidate shipments before moving them to the final destinations. This is more economical than leasing their own spaces when cargo volume is low. The World Flight Services freight forwarding warehouse at Charles de Gaulle airport. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Besides their warehouse operations at Charles de Gaulle airport, WFS also runs an academy there to train workers in handling specialised cargo. In 2025, the centre aims to train 16,000 people in areas such as the handling of live animals, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods like flammable liquids or materials, and perishable goods like meat and milk. Mr Bernard said Paris has the capacity to continue accepting passengers, and that it is 'crucial to have cargo linked to the (passenger) routes'. Having cargo on board a passenger plane could contribute 30 per cent of a route's profitability, he added. 'It's quite important – in parallel with passenger development – to continue to grow from the cargo side.' Meanwhile, Sats announced on June 3 three new product offerings designed to strengthen global air logistics resilience, in partnership with global transport and logistics company Kuehne + Nagel. One of the services is the expedited delivery of aircraft parts to Changi Airport during Aircraft-on-Ground (AOG) emergencies, where planes are grounded due to technical or mechanical issues. Sats said the solution leverages technology to track the response during an AOG emergency. This allows ground teams to anticipate the arrival of the spare parts and to prepare for repairs, enabling a quicker return to service. 'These disruptions can result in significant operational and financial impacts, making quick access to spare parts a high priority for the aviation industry,' said Sats and Kuehne + Nagel. The two partners also launched sea-air freight services at Sats' Los Angeles and Singapore hubs. This allows customers to transfer sea cargo onto air transport in the last leg of the journey, which could mitigate disruptions to customers' supply chains. To improve trucking and warehouse efficiency at Frankfurt Airport, the two partners have accelerated import cargo clearance there. This streamlining has reduced delays, allowing faster cargo pick-up and delivery by truck. Vanessa Paige Chelvan is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes about all things transport and pens the occasional commentary. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Sats ‘confident' in navigating tariff situation, says chief executive Kerry Mok
– Sats, the Singapore-listed air cargo handling services provider, is confident in facing any disruptions of the global trade war being waged by the US, Mr Kerry Mok, the company's president and chief executive, said on June 3. Speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Air Cargo Europe trade show, Mr Mok said he views the tariff situation as 'another macroeconomic challenge that we have to handle' that is similar to navigating the pandemic. Air Cargo Europe is being held in Munich until June 5. Sats is the world's largest air cargo handler, following its acquisition of Paris-based global air cargo logistics provider Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in 2023 at a cost of €1.3 billion (S$1.8 billion). Its global footprint includes 215 cargo and ground handling stations in 27 countries, covering trade routes responsible for more than 50 per cent of global air cargo volume. Mr Mok said his confidence stems from 'the playbook that we have developed through Covid, (which) has served us well'. So far, air cargo volumes have not been affected by hefty tariff increases, possibly because of front-loading by businesses to get their goods off the ground during the 90-day reprieve, he said. On May 12, China and the US agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs to 10 per cent for 90 days while they commit to trade talks. While it is uncertain what will happen after the 90 days, Mr Mok said he expects that Sats, as a global company, will be able to weather the storm. A part of the business that is not doing well could be propped up by other parts of the business that are unaffected, he said. 'In a networked environment, if US volumes drop, Europe's volume increases, Asia volumes may increase,' he said. Because Sats has a global network, it may in fact benefit from a rise in volumes elsewhere, he added. Total demand for air cargo rose by 5.8 per cent in April 2025, compared to April 2024 levels, according to data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) . Its director-general also said the outlook for air cargo is encouraging, though 'stresses in world trade are no secret'. One of the lessons to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic is that air cargo was 'a shining spot' for many airlines and companies, said Mr Mok. When Sats was looking to expand, 'we identified cargo as a segment for expansion, because cargo is global ... and our customers operate in a global environment'. Sats offers airport services like airfreight handling, passenger services, and ground handling. It is also a major airline caterer and provider of food solutions to other institutions. 'We can't just stay big in Singapore and then be happy with that,' he said. Mr Mok said the WFS acquisition made sense because 'we are the leader in Asia Pacific, and they are market leaders in the US, the Americas and in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) , and we have very little overlap'. Nonetheless , Mr Mok said, the acquisition was not without its naysayers. 'People said there's no chance… that Singapore companies always fail when they go overseas,' he said. But Sats took a long-term view, rather than focus on short-term profits and liabilities. 'That's not how we run the business,' he said. 'I think people are now starting to understand that it's working financially. We're now back on track,' he said. In May, Sats reported a net profit of $38.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, gaining 18.3 per cent from $32.7 million in the corresponding year-ago period. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.5 billion, up 10.4 per cent year-on-year from $1.3 billion. This was driven by continued business volume growth and rate improvements, said Sats in a media release in May. On a full-year basis, the group reported profit of $243.8 million, soaring more than four times from $56.4 million a year ago. Revenue came in at $5.8 billion, gaining 13 per cent from $5.1 billion a year ago. Terminal 5 Turning to Terminal 5, Mr Mok said Sats will 'play a big part in the design of T5', particularly in the area of technology. In May, Sats announced that it would be investing over $250 million to upgrade its ground operations and cargo handling infrastructure at Changi Airport ahead of the opening of T5 in the mid-2030s. An expansion project more than a decade in the making, T5 will position Changi Airport to ride a predicted surge in air travel within the Asia-Pacific and beyond. Designed to handle about 50 million passengers a year, T5 will effectively double the size of Changi Airport and boost its current capacity of 90 million by more than 55 per cent. The Changi East development, where T5 is located, will also house the Changi East Industrial Zone, which will almost double the airport's annual cargo handling capacity from three million tonnes to 5.4 million tonnes. Mr Mok said the investment would refresh Sats' operations and bring in new equipment, with the goal of driving up productivity. 'We've got to find new technologies, new ways that will allow us to be efficient in driving the growth of T5,' he said. The solutions will not be those that exist today, he promised, noting that Sats can tap global network and the trials it has going on around the world. For example, a WFS cargo facility in Barcelona is testing automatic guided vehicles as part of an initiative to incorporate automation and improve efficiency, safety and productivity. 'It's important that T5 succeeds, and we want to play a big role in making that work for Changi,' Mr Mok said. Vanessa Paige Chelvan is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She writes about all things transport and pens the occasional commentary. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
SATS managing ongoing trade uncertainty by focusing on its customers: CEO Kerry Mok
As trade tensions continue to cast a shadow on the air freight industry, SATS CEO Kerry Mok said the Singapore-based cargo handling company is staying nimble and focusing on customers. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Air Cargo Europe trade fair in Munich. SATS — the world's biggest provider of air cargo handling services — plans to invest S$250 million to expand capacity and upgrade its fleet over the next five years. Ross Cullen reports.
