Ow Chio Kiat, the executive chairman of Stamford Land H07 Corporation, has acquired 59,700 shares for $22,089, or 37 cents apiece. 

 

The shares were bought via the market on Nov 26. 

 

Following the transaction, Ow has a total of 683,355,262, or 46.059% of the total number of ordinary shares held. 

 

On Nov 22 and Nov 25, Ow bought a total of 200,000 shares for $74,000, or 37 cents per share. 

 

Additionally, Ow is also deemed to have an interest of 13,785,100 shares held by his spouse, Lim Siew Feng. 

 

Between Nov 14 and Nov 18, Stamford Land Corporation : H07 0% executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat acquired 138,900 shares at S$0.370 per share. This marginally increased his total interest to 46.04 per cent. He is also the executive chairman of Singapore Shipping Corporation.

 

Stamford Land Corporation is Australia&rsquo s largest independent luxury hotel owner-operator. Its profit before tax for its H1 FY2024/2025 (ended Sep 30)stood at S$19.2 million. The group noted that it is facing competitive pressure and rising costs in its hotel operations, but is maintaining a stable commercial tenancy in London. It also holds surplus cash in reputable banks due to a lack of compelling acquisitions, and is undertaking development and restoration work at Stamford Plaza Brisbane.

This is largely due to the absence of a S$71.2 million fair value loss on investment property recorded a year ago

 

PROPERTY company Stamford Land : H07 0% on Friday (Nov 8) posted a net profit of S$15.2 million for the six months ended Sep 30, reversing into the black from a loss of S$14.6 million in the corresponding period in the previous year.

 

This translates to an earnings per share of S$0.0101, compared with a loss per share of S$0.0098.

 

The return to profit was largely due to the absence of a S$71.2 million fair value loss on investment property recorded a year ago.

 

Despite the increase in net profit, revenue in the first half of FY2025 fell 4.3 per cent to S$70.1 million, from S$73.2 million year on year.

 

This is as the group&rsquo s largest revenue generator, the hotel owning and management segment, reported lower revenue and operating profit due to lower room rates, driven by market-competitive pricing.

 

The operation cost was also affected by increased property taxes, staff cost, energy costs and other direct cost, as well as the appreciation of the Australian dollar against the Singapore dollar, said Stamford Land.

The group did not declare a dividend for the period under review.

 

It added that its hotels continue to face competition, coupled with rising operating and manpower costs, and a tight labour market.

 

As at Sep 30, the group has utilised S$145.5 million from a rights issue in February 2022, which raised S$238.9 million in net proceeds.

 

It has also earmarked a further S$2.7 million for the restoration of Stamford Plaza Brisbane in Australia.

Between Sep 25 and Sep 30, Stamford Land Corporation : H07 -1.33% executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat acquired 254,600 shares at S$0.375 per share. This increased his total interest from 46 per cent to 46.02 per cent. 

 

Stamford Land Corporation is the largest independent owner-operator of luxury hotels in Australia, and an established real estate developer and investor. The group completed its FY2023/2024 on Mar 31. Ow noted that the company&rsquo s core underlying net profit rose 7 per cent from the previous financial year, after adjusting for non-cash fair-value losses, foreign exchange differences, and a non-recurring gain from the disposal of hotel properties (net of tax and associated costs).

 

Ow also noted in July that the group is in a strong position with net cash of S$452 million, and is poised for opportunistic acquisitions and asset enhancement initiatives. Having fully paid down its loans, the group is also insulated from the rising interest rate environment, showcasing its prudent financial risk management.

 

These were procured after considering the company&rsquo s cash position, funding requirements

 

STAMFORD Land : H07 -1.3% on Thursday (Jul 25) announced an interested persons transaction in taking out shareholders&rsquo loans totalling about S$413.5 million in relation to the acquisition of the 8 Finsbury Circus property.

 

These loans were provided by Stamford FC, a subsidiary of Stamford Land, and Ow FC, which is an associate of Stamford Land executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat. Stamford FC has provided a senior loan of about S$75.2 million and a subordinated loan of around S$172.9 million. Ow FC has provided a senior loan of about S$50.2 million and a subordinated loan of around S$115.2 million.

 

The Finsbury property is a freehold property with 10 floors of Grade A commercial office units with a total floor area of over 180,000 square feet, situated in the city core of London.

 

The rationale for taking out the shareholders&rsquo loans is to refinance the loans used to acquire the Finsbury property. Acquired in July 2019, it was then partially financed by shareholders&rsquo loans and an external bank loan. The bank loan has since been repaid from monies received from another set of shareholders&rsquo loans in 2023.

 

The 2024 shareholders&rsquo loans will be used to repay the shareholders&rsquo loans from 2019 and 2023, which are due on Jul 25. Stamford Land said the 2024 shareholders&rsquo loans were procured after considering the company&rsquo s cash position and funding requirements.

 

The senior loans have a maturity of five years with certain pre-payments or early repayment provisions, and rank senior to the subordinated loans.

 

The audit and risk management committee of Stamford Land is of the view that the 2024 shareholders&rsquo loans are not prejudicial to the company and its minority shareholders.

Stamford Land Corp : TBMR 0% executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat increased his total interest from 45.86 to 45.88 per cent, acquiring 246,800 shares at S$0.40 a share between Jun 6 and 11.

 

He also increased his total interest in Singapore Shipping Corp, where he is executive chairman. He raised his interest in the group from 43.04 to 43.05 per cent between Jun 6 and 12.

Stamford Land Corporation : H07 0% executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat increased his total interest in the company from 45.78 to 45.86 per cent, acquiring 1,257,300 shares at an average price of S$0.39 per share between May 27 and Jun 4.

 

Ow also increased his total interest in Singapore Shipping Corporation, where he also serves as executive chairman. He increased his interest in the shipping group from 42.97 per cent on May 27 to 43.04 per cent on Jun 5. 

Revenue for the six months was up 2.8% to S$83.8 million

 

STAMFORD Land : H07 +1.3% reported on Friday (May 24) an 88.9 per cent decline in net profit for its second half, in the absence of disposal gains in the year-ago period.

 

Net profit for the six months ended Mar 31 fell to S$20.6 million from S$184.5 million in the same period a year ago. On a per-share basis, earnings fell to S$0.0138 from S$0.1235 over the same period.

 

A final dividend of S$0.005 per share was proposed, similar to the final dividend a year earlier. However, there was no special dividend of S$0.01 per share, unlike the previous financial year.

 

The company&rsquo s lower net profit was mainly due to the absence of disposal gains. It recorded a S$218.6 million gain on property plant and equipment in H2 FY23, but had no such gains in the current period.

 

Revenue for the six months grew 2.8 per cent to S$83.8 million. For the full year, revenue was up 3.4 per cent to S$157 million.

 

Revenue from hotel owning and management rose 1.3 per cent to S$124.4 million for the full year.

 

The higher revenue for the full year was largely due to the resumption of operations of the Stamford Plaza Brisbane in November 2022, the group said. It added that improved room and occupancy rates in most of the hotels also contributed to the higher revenue.

 

However, the group was affected by higher staff costs, energy costs and other direct costs, as well as depreciation of the Australian Dollar against the Singapore Dollar.

 

Operating profit from hotel owning and management fell 30.3 per cent in 2024 to S$15.5 million. Stamford Land said the profit was also affected by the absence of contribution from Stamford Plaza Auckland, which was divested in the prior year.

 

In terms of outlook, Stamford Land said hotels continue to face competition, coupled with rising operating and manpower costs.

 

&ldquo The group will continue to explore acquisition opportunities. However, timing of acquisitions is crucial. In the meantime, surplus cash is placed only in reputable banks to earn interest income,&rdquo it said.

STAMFORD Land : H07 0% saw its net loss narrow to S$14.6 million for the six months ended Sep 30, 2023, from S$32.1 million a year earlier.

 

This was despite a 4.1 per cent rise in revenue to S$73.2 million over the same period, from S$70.3 million the year before.

 

In its results release on Friday (Nov 10), the company attributed its net loss to fair value loss on its investment property. Fair value loss on investment property rose to S$71.2 million for the half-year period, from S$52.3 million over the same period a year earlier.

 

&ldquo For the six months ended Sep 30, 2023, the group would have generated a profit before tax of S$31 million if the fair value loss on the investment property in London, Finsbury Circus of S$71.2 million was excluded,&rdquo it said.

 

It added that the fair value loss of the group&rsquo s investment property in London was a result of an increase in the capitalisation rate to 5.5 per cent in September 2023, from 4.5 per cent in March 2023.

 

&ldquo The commercial tenancy situation for the group&rsquo s property in London remains stable. However, the valuation of the property is dependent on the interest rate environment.&rdquo

 

Loss per share stood at 0.98 cent per share for the half-year period, from a loss per share of 2.16 cents the year before.

 

No dividends were declared for the period, as was the case last year.

 

Stamford Land attributed the higher revenue seen by the company to the resumption of operations in November 2022 of Stamford Plaza Brisbane after it was closed due to a flood between March and October 2022. It added that the rise came despite the divestment of Stamford Plaza Auckland in December 2022.

 

However, the company also saw increased staff costs, consumables used, energy costs, commission and reservation expenses and other direct costs. It was also weighed down by the depreciation of the Australian dollar against the Singapore dollar.

 

It further noted that the higher operating profit of S$19.5 million for the six months, compared with S$19 million a year earlier, was mainly due to its executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat voluntarily waiving S$6.5 million of profit-sharing incentives contractually due to him.

 

This was partially offset by an increase in administrative costs and professional fees, the company said.