When a business does well, its share price should naturally follow.
Hence, investors who are looking for solid investment ideas should carefully study which companies are growing their profits and cash flows.
Over time, such stocks can see their share prices trending higher, thereby netting you attractive capital gains.
What’s more, when the business enjoys higher profits and can generate more cash, it may also pay out higher dividends.
Here are four stocks that recently reported much higher profits than the previous corresponding period.
LHN Ltd (SGX: 41O)
LHN is a real estate management services group with four key divisions – space optimisation, property development, facilities management, and energy.
The group reported a strong set of earnings for its fiscal 2024 (FY2024) ending 30 September 2024.
Revenue jumped 29.2% year on year to S$121 million.
Gross profit improved by 20% year on year to S$62.2 million while net profit (from both continuing and discontinued operations) climbed 23.8% year on year to S$47.3 million.
LHN also generated a positive free cash flow of S$23.5 million for FY2024.
The real estate group declared and paid out a final dividend of S$0.01 and a special dividend of S$0.01, similar to a year ago.
For its space optimisation division, LHN is targeting to acquire at least 800 new rooms per year via master lease or selective acquisition.
It will explore capital recycling to move towards an asset-light model.
For its real estate development business, LHN has a pipeline of projects in Singapore that will be completed progressively from the second quarter of fiscal 2025 (2Q FY2025) to 1Q FY2027.
ComfortDelGro Corporation (SGX: C52)
ComfortDelGro Corporation, or CDG, is a mobility service provider with a fleet of 40,000 buses, taxis, and rental vehicles.
The group also has 210 km of rail network in operation and under development and operates in 12 countries.
CDG reported an encouraging set of earnings for its third quarter of 2024 (3Q 2024) business update.
Revenue for the quarter rose 18.4% year on year to S$1.2 billion.
Net profit increased by 15.2% year on year to S$57.5 million, making this the sixth consecutive quarter of year-on-year improvement.
In Australia, CDG was awarded three bus franchises that will commence in July 2025, representing a 30% year-on-year growth of the group’s Victoria public bus business.
Over in the UK, the land transport giant also acquired Addison Lee, a leader in London’s premium taxi and private hire market, for around S$461.2 million.
However, management warned that intense competition persists in Singapore’s taxi and private hire scene, and the group is waiting for the Land Transport Authority’s review of the peer-to-peer industry.
Boustead Singapore (SGX: F9D)
Boustead Singapore, or BSL, is a conglomerate with four divisions – energy engineering, real estate, geospatial technology, and healthcare.
The engineering group pulled off an admirable performance for the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 30 September 2024.
Revenue fell by 20% year on year to S$295.2 million but gross profit managed to climb 11% year on year to S$116.6 million due to higher gross margins.
BSL’s core net profit surged 48% year on year to S$38.3 million.
The group also generated a positive free cash flow of S$22.2 million for 1H FY2025.
BSL paid out an interim dividend of S$0.015, unchanged from a year ago.
The group’s engineering backlog stood at around S$157 million after it secured approximately S$96 million in new engineering contracts since the beginning of FY2025.
Its geospatial division’s deferred services backlog stood at S$149 million.
MeGroup Ltd (SGX: SJY)
MeGroup is a component manufacturer and dealer in the automotive industry.
The group manufactures noise, vibration, and harshness components mainly for the Malaysian market while its dealership business owns and operates 11 outlets under eight brands.
MeGroup reported a mixed set of results for 1H FY2025.
Revenue tumbled 11.1% year on year to RM 193.4 million but gross profit shot up 18% year on year to RM 25.5 million.
Along with good expense control, MeGroup saw its net profit soar close to 70% year on year to RM 5.5 million.
The business also generated healthy free cash flow of RM 6.7 million, nearly four times higher than the RM 1.7 million that was churned out in 1H FY2024.
An interim dividend of RM 0.003 was paid out, slightly lower than the RM 0.004 that was paid in the prior year.
MeGroup’s subsidiaries have secured a letter of intent, appointment, and offer to become the authorised dealers for JETOUR, GWM, and Mitsubishi Motors, respectively.
Its manufacturing business will be strengthened by the expansion of its facilities in Balakong in Selangor to support the mass production of diverse car components.
The group will continue to seek out complementary business opportunities that add value to the automotive industry.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Boustead Singapore.
