If you are gunning for capital gains, there is a fairly easy formula to follow.
Stocks do well when the underlying business sees increases in revenue, net profit, and free cash flow.
Such stocks also tend to pay out increasing dividends over time.
Hence, an easy way to score attractive gains is to track the underlying business to determine if is growing over time.
We picked out five dependable blue-chip stocks that are slated to report their earnings this month.
Let’s review them to determine if they could increase their profits.
DBS Group (SGX: D05)
DBS needs no introduction with its reputation as Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation.
The lender provides a comprehensive range of banking, insurance, and investment options for both individuals and corporations.
DBS will be releasing its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings on 10 February, before the market opens.
The group announced a strong set of earnings for the first nine months of 2024 (9M 2024).
Total income rose 11% year on year to S$16.8 billion as net interest income and non-interest income both shot up.
Net profit came in at S$8.8 billion, up 12% year on year and was at a record high.
An interim dividend of S$0.54 was declared for the third quarter of 2024 (3Q 2024), up 22.7% year on year from the S$0.44 paid out in 3Q 2023.
CEO Piyush Gupta provided a sanguine outlook as he expects loan growth to offset any weakness in the bank’s net interest margin.
He also expects non-interest income to grow by high-single-digits.
At the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, officials decided to keep interest rates constant rather than cutting them, which is the first time these officials are meeting without concluding on a rate cut since July 2024.
DBS could see its net interest income benefit as rates hover at current levels.
The buoyant economy should also keep spending levels high, which should boost the bank’s non-interest income in the form of card fees.
Sembcorp Industries (SGX: U96)
Sembcorp Industries, or SCI, is an energy and urban solutions provider with a balanced energy portfolio of 21.2 GW.
The group’s urban development projects span more than 14,000 hectares across Asia.
SCI will be releasing its 2024 earnings on the morning of 27 February.
It will be a useful update for investors as the last time the utility giant released its earnings was its first half of 2024 (1H 2024) earnings back in August 2024.
Back then, the group saw its revenue fall 12% year on year to S$3.2 billion while net profit (before exceptional items) also tumbled 12% year on year to S$532 million.
Despite the lower profit, SCI upped its interim dividend from S$0.05 to S$0.06.
There could be better news for 2024 as the group announced many promising business developments in the past several months.
Back in December, SCI was awarded a 150 MW solar photovoltaic project from Solar Energy Corporation of India.
In September last year, SCI acquired a 30% interest in Senoko Energy from ENGIE Global Developments B.V.
Venture Corporation (SGX: V03)
Venture Corporation provides technology products, services, and solutions for its customers.
The contract manufacturer will release its 2024 earnings after the market close on 21 February.
Venture saw soft demand persist for its 3Q 2024 business update.
Revenue fell slightly by 3.9% quarter-on-quarter to S$689.7 million while net profit weakened by 4.7% quarter-on-quarter to S$60.6 million.
The business managed to generate positive operating cash flow of S$393.8 million for 9M 2024 and ended the period with a net cash position of close to S$1.2 billion.
Despite the softer customer demand, Venture expects 2H 2024 revenue to be in line with 1H 2024.
Management also sees good business opportunities that involve new design wins and new product introductions for sectors such as data centres.
The group also won new projects in the life sciences and medical technology domains.
Wilmar International (SGX: F34)
Wilmar is an integrated agribusiness that covers the entire commodities value chain.
The group owns over 1,000 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution network covering 50 countries and regions.
Wilmar is slated to release its 2024 earnings after the market close on 20 February 2025.
For the agribusiness group’s 9M 2024 business update, revenue dipped by 3% year on year to US$48.7 billion while net profit fell by 3.6% year on year to US$834 million.
The business saw its core net profit slip 9.6% year on year to US$814.4 million.
Wilmar expects that improvements in palm production should result in higher refining margins for tropical oils.
Meanwhile, crushing margins for soybean should also stay positive.
Management is cautiously optimistic that the remainder of 2024 should see a satisfactory performance.
Genting Singapore (SGX: G13)
Genting Singapore owns and operates the integrated resort (IR) at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
RWS features six hotels with around 1,600 hotel rooms along with a casino, Universal Studios Singapore, and the S.E.A Aquarium.
Like Wilmar, Genting Singapore will also release its 2024 earnings in the evening of 20 February 2025.
The group released a downbeat set of earnings for 3Q 2024 as gaming revenue tumbled 28% year on year to S$330 million.
As a result, total revenue fell by 19% year on year to S$562 million.
Net profit for 3Q 2024 came in at S$79.4 million, registering a sharp 63% year-on-year plunge.
Management attributed the decline in performance to lower VIP rolling volume and win rates.
Also, Hard Rock Hotel was closed for renovation while the S.E.A Aquarium is closed for two days every week for its expansion into the Singapore Oceanarium.
Investors can look forward to new attractions being unveiled as the group progresses with its RWS 2.0 developments.
One such attraction is Universal Studios Singapore’s new themed zone, Illumination’s Minion Land, which is slated to open in 1Q 2025.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang own shares of DBS Group.
