There are several ways to look for investment ideas.
You can scour the news for articles on companies’ latest earnings to assess if they are still growing.
Another method is to search for possible bargains in stocks that have hit their 52-week lows.
Pair this attribute with blue-chip companies and the chances of finding a genuine bargain greatly increase.
However, it’s still important to stay vigilant to avoid value traps.
A careful study of the business and its prospects is necessary to determine if a company is worth investing in.
Here are five blue-chip companies that recently hit a year-low that may turn out to be interesting investment candidates.
Genting Singapore (SGX: G13)
Genting Singapore owns and operates Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), an integrated resort (IR) featuring six hotels with 1,600 rooms, a casino, a Universal Studios theme park, and a vast selection of food and beverage outlets.
Shares of the IR operator recently hit a year-low of S$0.71, 24% below its peak of S$0.94 back in March 2021.
Genting Singapore released its fiscal 2021 third quarter (3Q2021) business update for the period ended 30 September 2021.
Gaming revenue fell by 9% year on year to S$194.7 million while non-gaming revenue dipped by 6% year on year to S$56.2 million.
The weaker revenue was due to a reduction in group sizes for social gatherings and lower levels of activity for the IR’s various offerings.
Despite the lower revenue, the group managed to report an 11% year on year jump in net profit to S$60.7 million due to a net exchange gain.
Looking ahead, the rollout of vaccinated travel lanes should increase the flow of tourists, leading to higher revenue for the IR.
Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U)
Mapletree Logistics Trust, or MLT, is a logistics-focused REIT with a portfolio of 167 properties in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India.
The REIT’s assets under management (AUM) stood at S$11.5 billion as of 31 December 2021.
MLT’s unit price recently hit a 52-week low of S$1.68, 21% below the high of S$2.15 in August last year.
For MLT’s fiscal 2022’s third-quarter (3Q2022), gross revenue jumped by 19.3% year on year to S$166.9 million while net property income (NPI) climbed by 17.4% year on year.
Distribution per unit increased by 5.8% year on year to S$0.02185.
The REIT maintained high occupancy of 97.8% and also reported a positive rental reversion of 2.5%.
Aggregate leverage stood at 34.7% with a weighted cost of debt at 2.2%, offering sufficient debt headroom for MLT to tap on debt for further acquisitions.
Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U)
Ascendas REIT is an industrial REIT with a portfolio of 207 properties worth S$16 billion as of 30 September 2021.
The REIT’s properties are spread out across Singapore, Australia, the US and the UK.
Ascendas REIT’s unit price recently touched a 52-week low of S$2.76.
In a business update released for 3Q2021, portfolio occupancy remained healthy at 91.7% with a positive rental reversion of 3.7% to boot.
The industrial REIT had just completed S$184.6 million worth of development and divested properties worth S$104.5 million during the quarter.
Aggregate leverage stood at 37.4% with a cost of debt of 2.4% and an interest coverage ratio of 4.9 times.
Thai Beverage PCL (SGX: Y92)
Thai Beverage is a producer and distributor of beverages and food. Its business comprises four segments: spirits, beer, alcoholic beverages, and food.
The group operates 19 distilleries, three breweries and 21 non-alcoholic beverage production facilities along with an extensive distribution network.
The alcohol manufacturer has seen its share price hit a 52-week low of S$0.64 recently.
Thai Beverage reported a resilient set of numbers for its latest business update.
For the first nine months of 2021 (9M2021), revenue inched up by 1.1% year on year to THB 192.1 billion, with its all important spirits division seeing a 3.6% year on year revenue increase.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 11.5% year on year to THB 36.6 billion.
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63)
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, or STE, is an engineering, technology and defence group that serves customers in more than 100 countries.
The engineering conglomerate saw its shares touch a year-low of S$3.66 recently.
For 3Q2021, the group secured more than S$1.8 billion worth of contracts.
Its order book climbed to S$18.2 billion, the highest since the end of 2020.
STE recently updated its five-year growth plan during its Investor Day briefing.
The group is also busy integrating its US$2.7 billion TransCore acquisition that was conducted in October last year.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
