Investors use a variety of strategies to sift out investment ideas.
One of the methods is to look for stocks that are hitting their 52-week lows.
Such stocks may be experiencing falling revenue and profits or making losses and face poor sentiment from investors.
When looking at such stocks, you should examine the underlying business’s strength to see if such troubles are temporary, or if they may persist in the medium term.
Here are four Singapore stocks that recently plumbed their year-lows. Could a rebound be imminent?
Raffles Medical Group (SGX: BSL)
Raffles Medical Group, or RMG, is an integrated healthcare player that provides a comprehensive range of healthcare services ranging from tertiary care to health insurance.
Its network includes four hospitals and more than 100 multi-disciplinary clinics in Singapore and around the region.
RMG’s share price hit its 52-week low of S$0.92 recently and is down more than 16% year-to-date.
The healthcare player announced a downbeat set of earnings for the first half of 2024 (1H 2024).
Revenue dipped by 1.4% year on year to S$365.7 million with the cessation of COVID-19 services.
Operating profit plunged by 46.1% year on year to S$41.3 million while net profit fell sharply by 48.8% year on year to S$30.6 million.
The group’s hospitals in China are gaining traction and seeing higher patient numbers but both the Shanghai and Chongqing hospitals are still in their gestational phase and are incurring losses.
In addition, RMG’s insurance arm experienced higher claims and a higher loss ratio, leading to a larger operating loss of S$6.4 million compared with just S$1.3 million in 1H 2023.
The healthcare group continues to operate the transitional care facilities with Singapore’s Ministry of Health and added 176 beds to its capacity.
Over in Japan, the group opened its second medical centre in Fukuoka in June to serve more locals, expatriates, and tourists who seek quality medical care.
AEM Holdings (SGX: AWX)
AEM Holdings provides comprehensive semiconductor and electronic test solutions and has manufacturing plants in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Finland, South Korea, and the US.
AEM’s share price has more than halved year-to-date and hit its 52-week low of S$1.55 recently.
The group reported its first-ever full-year loss as it grapples with a semiconductor cyclical downturn.
Revenue tumbled by 44.7% year on year to S$481.3 million.
AEM incurred a net loss of S$1.2 million compared with a net profit of S$127.3 million a year ago.
Investors should note that profit before tax excluding exceptional items (arbitration settlement and inventory write-off) came in at S$38.3 million for 2023.
Despite the weak result, AEM still managed to generate a positive free cash flow of S$14.9 million for the year.
Management believes that the boom in artificial intelligence should boost the volume growth of advanced logic devices and increase the need for its Test 2.0 solutions.
Because of limited visibility, AEM is not providing full-year guidance but has guided for 1H 2024 revenue to be between S$170 million to S$200 million.
Singapore Airlines Limited (SGX: C6L)
Singapore Airlines Limited, or SIA, is Singapore’s flagship airline.
The group’s share price recently touched a 52-week low of S$5.87 and is down around 6.6% year-to-date.
The airline released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (1Q FY2025) ending 30 June 2024.
It was a mixed bag of results with revenue rising by 5.3% year on year to S$4.7 billion but net profit tumbling by 38.4% year on year to S$452 million.
The fall in profit was caused by lower yields along with a rise in fuel costs as the airline industry contends with increased competition, supply chain constraints, and inflationary cost pressures.
Management continues to pursue commercial partnerships with different carriers to increase its network in fast-growing markets within the Asia-Pacific region.
The group also has 88 aircraft on order and has a fleet of 202 passenger and freighter aircraft.
Although demand for air travel will remain healthy in the latter part of this year, passenger yields are projected to be below last year’s levels as more capacity enters the market.
Air cargo demand should be buoyed by the e-commerce segment with yields still holding at 18% above pre-pandemic levels.
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (SGX: NS8U)
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, or HPH Trust, operates deep-water container terminals in the Pearl River Delta of South China.
These ports, located in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, have a total of 38 berths and handled a total throughput of 21.3 million twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) in 2023.
HPH Trust’s share price has declined by 19% year-to-date and hit its 52-week low of US$0.12 recently.
For 1H 2024, the trust saw its revenue inch up 2.6% year on year to HK$5.3 billion.
Operating profit rose 16.7% year on year to HK$1.8 billion while net profit surged 66.6% year on year to HK$158.1 million.
HPH Trust declared an interim distribution of HK$0.05, lower than the HK$0.055 paid out a year ago.
Management disclosed that Hong Kong’s volume was positively impacted by the disruptions faced by nearby ports with extra loaders calling on the island since June 2024.
However, the trust may face higher interest rates when refinancing its debt because the loans it drew four to five years ago enjoyed much lower interest rates.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Raffles Medical Group.
