With Singapore set to become a “super-aged” society by next year, the burden is on the younger generation to help to sustain their parents’ retirement.
A “super-aged” society is where one in five people are 65 years or older.
Aptly known as the sandwiched generation, those in their 40s and 50s are now saddled with ageing parents while having to care for their growing children.
The good news is that investing can help to alleviate some of this financial pressure.
This demographic group seeks both growth and dividends as they deal with the young and old.
Here are four attractive Singapore blue-chip stocks that can provide this attractive mix.
DBS Group (SGX: D05)
DBS Group needs no introduction, being Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation.
The lender provides a healthy mix of growth and dividends with its latest financial results.
For the first nine months of 2024 (9M 2024), total income rose 11% year on year to S$16.8 billion on the back of a 5% year-on-year increase in commercial book net interest income.
Fee income climbed 27% year on year to S$3.2 billion, aided by higher wealth management and card fees.
Net profit for 9M 2024 increased by 12% year on year to S$8.8 billion.
Apart from the record net profit, DBS also dished out a quarterly dividend of S$0.54 for the third quarter of 2024 (3Q 2024), marking a 22.7% year-on-year increase from the S$0.44 paid out in 3Q 2023.
CEO Piyush Gupta expects to see net interest income hovering around last year’s levels, aided by “higher for longer” interest rates in the US.
Non-interest income should also grow by high-single-digits year on year for 2025.
With DBS reporting excess capital of around S$5.9 billion, the bank is well-positioned to raise its ordinary dividend or declare a special dividend when it reports its 2024 results on 10 February.
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68)
Singapore Exchange Limited, or SGX, is Singapore’s sole stock exchange operator.
The group saw steady increases in its revenue and net profit over the past several years.
For its fiscal 2023 (FY2023) ending 30 June 2023, revenue rose 8.7% year on year to S$1.2 billion while net profit (excluding exceptional items) climbed 10.3% year on year to S$503.2 million.
The bourse operator upped its quarterly dividend from S$0.08 to S$0.085.
A year later, SGX saw its FY2024 revenue rise 3.1% year on year to S$1.23 billion.
Core net profit increased by 4.5% year on year to S$525.9 million.
The group continued to increase its quarterly dividend, this time from S$0.085 to S$0.09.
Management aims to grow the group’s revenue by between 6% to 8% per annum in the medium term.
SGX also aims to maintain a mid-single digit % growth in dividend per share over this period.
Keppel Ltd (SGX: BN4)
Keppel is an asset manager with three key divisions – infrastructure, real estate, and connectivity.
The group reported stable net profit for 9M 2024 excluding the legacy effects of its offshore and marine assets.
The good news is that recurring income grew by 14% year on year, with contributions from both asset management and operating income.
Asset management fees also continued their upward march, surging 68% year on year to S$299 million.
Back during the first half of 2024 (1H 2024), Keppel paid out an interim dividend of S$0.15, unchanged from a year ago.
Keppel intends to expand its data centre capacity from 650 MW to 1.2 GW while growing its funds under management by another S$10 billion.
The group currently has 220 MW of data centre capacity in various stages of development, along with leading-edge and sustainable data centre solutions such as a floating data centre module and a 1 GW data park.
Keppel is also focusing on its Vision 2030 goals with asset monetisations hitting S$730 million in 9M 2024.
SATS Ltd (SGX: S63)
SATS is one of the world’s largest providers of air cargo handling services and airline food catering.
The combined network of SATS and Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), which was acquired back in 2022, comprises over 215 stations in 27 countries.
SATS posted solid growth for the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 30 September 2024.
Revenue rose 14.8% year on year to S$2.8 billion while operating profit more than tripled year on year to S$240.1 million.
Net profit stood at S$134.7 million, reversing the previous year’s S$7.8 million loss.
An interim dividend of S$0.015 was also declared, marking the resumption of dividend payments since the pandemic ended.
Looking ahead, SATS expects the positive momentum to continue as travel and cargo reach their seasonal peaks.
The group intends to introduce new product offerings and improve its operating efficiency to solidify its competitive position.
Earlier this month, SATS reported that Air India renewed 11 contracts and awarded 14 new contracts after a global tendering process, helping to expand the airline’s relationship with both SATS and WFS.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of DBS Group and Singapore Exchange Limited.
