Yesterday, Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) surged to a new 52-week high, reaching levels last seen in 2018, more than six years ago.
Behind this rise are gains across a wide range of blue-chip stocks, including those from the airline, banking, and telecommunications sectors.
Many of the STI stocks pay a dividend too.
Here are three blue-chip dividend stocks among the year’s top gainers.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (SGX: BS6)
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, or YZJ, has been a standout performer with shares rising 61% year to date.
The Chinese shipbuilder owns four shipyards in the Jiangsu province along the Yangtze River, producing a range of commercial vessels including large containerships, bulk carriers and liquefied natural gas carriers (LNG) carriers.
For the first half of 2024 (1H’24), YZJ’s revenue rose 15.3% year on year to around RMB 23.1 billion.
Gross profit leapt 65.1% year on year to RMB 3.5 billion due to favourable exchange rates and pricing while net profit soared by over 77% year on year to more than RMB 3 billion.
Higher profits led the Chinese firm to generate free cash flow (FCF) of RMB 6.6 billion for 1H’24, more than three times 1H’23’s FCF figure of RMB 2.2 billion.
No interim dividend was declared for 1H’24.
However, for 2023, the shipbuilder declared a final dividend of S$0.065, 30% higher than the S$0.05 paid out in the previous year.
At S$2.48, shares offer a 2.6% dividend yield.
YZJ is poised to grow further, based on its rising order book.
For 1H’24, the company secured a massive 79 new orders valued at US$8.5 billion, with clean energy vessels driving 79% of the demand.
At the end of 1H24, the Chinese shipbuilder said it had a record outstanding order book of US$20.2 billion for 224 vessels, providing earnings visibility to mid-2028.
To support its growth, YZJ will be spending around RMB 3 billion over the next two years to expand its Yangzi Xinfu Yard for clean energy ship manufacturing.
The Chinese firm will also invest another RMB 1 billin into converting its chemical terminal along the Yangtze river to a LNG terminal. The move will position YZJ as a comprehensive LNG hub with storage and distribution capabilities.
SATS (SGX: S58)
SATS was another outperformer with shares gaining 34.2% year to date.
The Singaporean company is best known for its airline caterings services but also provides a range of other ground handling, cargo, and food services.
In one word, SATS’s story is about recovery.
For the first quarter of the fiscal year ending 31 March 2025 (1Q’FY25), SAT’s revenue leapt by 15.5% year on year to S$1.37 billion, backed by growth in air cargo volumes and increase demand in inflight meals.
Net profit came in at S$65 million, a sharp turnaround from a net loss of S$29.9 million a year ago.
SATS’s also reported an operating cash flow of S$164.2 million and a FCF of S$36.7 million for the reporting period.
No dividend was declared for 1Q’FY25.
However, if SATS is able to continue delivering good results, we should see a higher dividend payout for FY25. For context, the company resumed paying dividends in FY24 after stopping payouts during the pandemic.
For FY24, SATS declared a final dividend of S$0.015 per share.
At S$3.69, shares currently offer a dividend of yield of 0.4%.
The group expect to see “positive momentum” in the coming quarter due to the shift to air cargo caused by seaport congestion.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Asia is leading the recovery in global air cargo and passenger growth with the region expected to account for half of the world’s revenue per kilometres in 2024.
Singapore Telecommunications (SGX: Z74)
Rounding off the list is Singtel which posted a share price gain of almost 34% this year.
Singapore’s largest telco is close to its all-time high, closing at $3.28 yesterday. Shares currently offer a 4.6% dividend yield.
For the first quarter of the fiscal year ending 31 March 2025 (1Q’25), the company’s operating revenue declined by 2.1% year-on-year to S$3.4 billion, primarily due to weaker performance from Optus and Singtel Singapore.
This decline was partially offset by growth in NCS and Digital InfraCo.
Despite the decrease in revenue, Singtel’s operating profit surged by 27.4% year-on-year to S$382 million.
Excluding the impact of Trustwave, which was divested earlier this year, underlying operating profit increased by 16.1%.
Next, the company’s net profit soared by nearly 43% to S$690 million, driven by strong performances in certain segments.
However, its core underlying net profit improved by a more modest 5.4% to S$603 million.
Overall, it’s a positive set of results.
Despite facing currency headwinds in Africa, Singtel’s growth engines, NCS and Nxera, are showing strong momentum. In addition, the company’s investment in STT GDC alongside KKR is another positive development.
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Disclosure: Chin Hui Leong owns shares in SATS.
