2023 has just begun but Chinese New Year is already upon us.
The Year of the Tiger looks set to end with a whimper rather than a roar as stock markets around the world fared badly in response to the twin headwinds of inflation and surging interest rates.
The Year of the Rabbit promises peace and prosperity, with investors finally able to catch their breath to reposition their investment portfolios.
And with this year being that of the Water Rabbit, it also symbolises a ray of hope for weary investors.
Parking your money in dependable stocks with healthy growth prospects should keep your portfolio safe even as the economy navigates these challenges.
Here are five reliable stocks that can help to usher in a prosperous Lunar New Year.
As a bonus, all of them also pay out healthy dividends.
ComfortDelGro Corporation Ltd (SGX: C52)
ComfortDelGro Corporation, or CDG, is a blue-chip land transport giant with a fleet of around 34,000 buses, taxis and rental vehicles.
Its operations span seven countries – Singapore, Australia, the UK, China, Ireland, New Zealand, and Malaysia.
For its fiscal 2022’s third quarter (3Q2022) business update, CDG reported that revenue had risen 10.1% year on year to S$969.5 million.
Net profit surged by close to 33% year on year to S$34.3 million.
With international travel rebounding strongly and countries such as China and Hong Kong opening up this month, CDG should enjoy a continued boost for its operations.
The group paid out an interim dividend of S$0.0285 and a special dividend of S$0.0141 last year.
CDG has been busy growing its business, snagging three metropolitan bus contracts in Sydney worth A$1.7 billion in November last year.
Earlier this month, the group also invested US$4 million into an Israeli teleoperation software company to boost its autonomous vehicle capabilities.
AEM Holdings Ltd (SGX: AWX)
AEM provides comprehensive semiconductor and electronic test solutions and has manufacturing plants in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the US, and Finland.
AEM’s 3Q2022 business update saw the group reporting its highest quarterly and nine-months revenue in its history.
For the first nine months of 2022 (9M2022), revenue soared 120.6% year on year to S$746.6 million while net profit more than doubled year on year to S$115.3 million.
Management is confident that new advanced manufacturing and packaging developments will spur new test methodologies, thereby providing more business for AEM.
For its first half of 2022 (1H2022) earnings, AEM more than doubled its interim dividend from S$0.026 to S$0.067.
The group also recently opened a new 365,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Penang.
Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd (SGX: H78)
Hongkong Land Holdings, or HKL, is a property development, management and investment group that owns more than 850,000 square metres of office and luxury retail properties in Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Jakarta.
As of 30 September, the committed physical vacancy rate remained low at 4.8% for its Hong Kong office property segment.
Singapore’s office portfolio saw a committed physical vacancy rate of just 0.7%.
However, HKL’s development properties segment saw weakness in 9M2022 due to pandemic-related restrictions in China, chalking up sales of just US$765 million versus US$1.6 billion in the same period last year.
Despite the weak economic conditions, HKL still maintained its interim dividend of US$0.06 for 1H2022.
The Hour Glass Ltd (SGX: AGS)
The Hour Glass, or THG, is a retailer of luxury watches with 50 boutiques across the Asia Pacific region.
The group sells famous Swiss watch brands such as Omega, Patek Philippe, Panerai, and Rolex.
THG announced a strong set of earnings for its fiscal 2023’s first half (1H2023) ending 30 September 2022.
Revenue climbed 18% year on year to S$562.7 million while net profit surged 35% year on year to S$84.5 million.
The luxury retailer paid out an interim dividend of S$0.02, unchanged from a year ago.
More super-rich families are setting up offices in Singapore to manage their wealth, with the country hosting 700 family offices currently, up from 400 in end-2020.
This is a trend that will benefit THG as there will be a larger pool of rich people that can purchase Swiss luxury watches.
Nanofilm Technologies International Ltd (SGX: MZH)
Nanofilm is a provider of nanotechnology solutions across a wide range of industries.
For 9M2022, the group posted a 10% year on year growth in revenue despite the presence of macroeconomic headwinds and supply chain disruptions.
Nanofilm is targeting several growth areas including the expansion of production facilities in Hanoi and the expansion into green energy through its Chinese joint venture.
The group has an ambitious target to grow revenue and net profit to S$500 million and S$100 million, respectively, by 2025.
As a comparison, Nanofilm reported revenue of S$111.3 million for 1H2022 with net profit coming in at S$18.8 million.
Its interim dividend also increased by 10% year on year to S$0.011.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
