Welcome to this week’s edition of top stock market highlights where we feature interesting snippets of corporate earnings or business news.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)
Tesla released its fiscal 2022’s third quarter (3Q2022) earnings this week.
The electric vehicle manufacturer posted a sparkling set of results and also saw a healthy jump in vehicle production and deliveries.
Total revenue jumped 56% year on year to US$21.4 billion.
Gross margin slipped slightly to 25.1% from 26.6% a year ago, but operating margin improved by 2.6 percentage points to 17.2% as operating expenses only rose 2% year on year.
Net profit for 3Q2022 doubled year on year from US$1.6 billion to US$3.3 billion, and Tesla also saw its free cash flow more than double to US$3.3 billion for the period.
The free cash flow margin improved significantly from 9.7% a year ago to 15.4%, and the company ended the quarter with US$21.1 billion of cash and investments.
The increase in revenue was attributed to higher vehicle deliveries for the quarter along with higher year on year average selling prices.
Tesla also saw total production surge by 54% year on year to 365,923 units while deliveries were up 42% year on year to 343,830.
The company provided a sanguine outlook and continues to expect a 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries.
It is also advancing on the industrialisation of Cybertruck, an all-electric pick-up truck made up of scratch and dent-resistant stainless steel,
Meanwhile, Tesla is also slated to start deliveries for its Class 8 truck, Tesla Semi, in December 2022, with plans to ramp production up to 50,000 units by 2024.
Sembcorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96)
Sembcorp Industries Limited, or SCI, announced that it had clinched an investment licence to develop a new industrial park in Can Tho, Vietnam.
Spanning 293.7 hectares, the industrial park will be operated by the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Group.
SCI is the joint master developer of these VSIP projects along with its partner Becamex IDC Corporation.
Can Tho is classified as a Class 1 city and Vietnam’s central government has announced a new master plan to make the city a centre for trade and services by 2030.
This new plan has infrastructure investments planned that are slated to increase Can Tho’s importance as a mega food-processing and distribution hub.
CEO of Sembcorp Development, Mr Kelvin Teo, commented that SCI has a portfolio of 11 large-scale developments across eight provinces in Vietnam through the VSIP Group.
SCI’s Integrated Urban Solutions division reported revenue of S$217 million for the first half of 2022 (1H2022), flat year on year.
Net profit before exceptional items for the segment dipped by 2% year on year to S$62 million.
During 1H2022, the division commenced the development of 1,000 hectares of VSIP Binh Duong and also incorporated a joint venture company to develop a 481-hectare site at Quang Tai Industrial Park.
United Overseas Bank (SGX: U11)
United Overseas Bank’s asset management arm, or UOBAM, has launched an interesting new exchange-traded fund (ETF) that retail investors can purchase.
Named UOBAM Ping An ChiNext ETF, it allows investors to access China’s ChiNext market, which is currently only limited to mainland Chinese and foreign institutional investors.
The ChiNext index comprises the 100 largest and most liquid A-shares listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
This is the first ETF launched after Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
UOBAM Ping An ChiNext ETF will provide investors with exposure to innovative growth companies and sectors in China.
Industrials take up the bulk (41%) of the ETF, with healthcare and information technology making up 22.4% and 13.5% of the ETF’s composition, respectively.
The ETF is rebalanced twice yearly and includes market leaders such as Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical (SHE: 300760) and Contemporary Amperex Technology (SHE: 300750).
The IPO opened yesterday and closes on 3 November with the issue price of each unit being S$1.00.
The ETF is expected to list on 14 November and can be traded in either Singapore or US dollars.
Investors have the bonus of being able to use their Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) funds to invest in this new ETF, opening up yet another option to park their money for better returns.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares of Singapore Exchange Limited.
