Listed firms drowning in a sea of red after sharp earnings misses in Q1

One of the worst quarters in 3 years.

Singapore-listed firms turned in a brutally red report card in the first quarter, with almost half of results coming in below analysts’ expectations.

A report by UOB Kay Hian noted that only 6% of stocks under its coverage beat earnings expectations, one of the worst quarterly performances since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Most sectors saw lower earnings, with oil services, supply chain, and plantation stocks bringing the biggest disappointments. Banks were the only bright spot in an otherwise forgettable quarter.

"Post 1Q15 results, we slash our market EPS growth for 2015 from 11.7% to 8.6%. For 2016, we estimate market EPS growth at 8.7% (9.9% previously), notwithstanding the low base in 2015," stated the report.

"The weak results were attributable to both turnover and margin pressures. Following our earnings revision, we now forecast market turnover to rise 6.0% yoy in 2015 (previously 9.9%) and 6.5% yoy in 2016 (previously 7.5%). EBIT margins are also reduced to 6.5% for 2015 (from 6.7%) and 6.6% for 2016 (from 6.8%). Sectors that endured significant cuts include shipyards, oil services and aviation,” UOB Kay Hian noted.