Dividends are an attractive form of passive income that can help to supplement your earned income and provide a financial cushion during your retirement years.
What’s more, unlike rental income from owning investment properties, dividends are not taxed as they are already taxed at the corporate level.
Happily, the Singapore stock market has a plethora of dividend-paying choices for income-seeking investors.
These range from dependable REITs and reliable blue-chip stocks to fast-growing companies.
We feature five stocks that are doling out dividends in June that you may be interested to add to your buy watchlist.
iFAST Corporation Limited (SGX: AIY)
iFAST is a financial technology company that operates a platform for the buying and selling of unit trusts, stocks, and bonds.
The group released its fiscal 2023’s first quarter (1Q 2023) earnings late last month.
Revenue slipped by 2% year on year to S$51.4 million while net profit plunged 48.1% year on year to S$3 million.
However, the fintech’s assets under administration (AUA) edged up 4.2% year on year to S$18.14 billion.
An interim dividend of S$0.01 was declared for 1Q2023 and will be paid on 7 June.
The group expects to enjoy sharply higher growth in revenue and profitability between 2023 and 2025 as contributions from its Hong Kong e-Pension division flow in.
For its digital bank division, iFAST also launched the digital personal banking platform in the UK to enable consumers and investors to easily access different investments and financial services.
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63)
Singapore Technologies Engineering, or STE, is a blue-chip engineering and technology group serving the aerospace, smart city, and public security segments.
The group’s 1Q 2023 business update saw revenue climb 13% year on year to S$2.3 billion.
All of STE’s three segments saw year on year revenue growth (after excluding the financial effects from the divested US marine division).
An interim dividend of S$0.04 was declared and will be paid on 6 June.
The engineering group snagged around S$4.9 billion of new contracts in 1Q 2023, taking its order book to S$25.4 billion, 10% higher than it was three months ago.
Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU)
Moving on to the REIT space, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, or MPACT, is a retail cum commercial REIT with 18 properties across four countries – Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and South Korea.
These properties have a total net lettable area of 11 million square feet and an asset under management (AUM) of S$16.6 billion as of 31 March 2023.
For its fiscal 2023 (FY2023) ending 31 March, MPACT’s gross revenue jumped 65.4% year on year to S$826.2 million, the result of its merger with Mapletree Commercial Trust.
Net property income (NPI) surged by 62.6% year on year to S$631.9 million while distribution per unit (DPU) rose 6.1% year on year to S$0.0961.
The fourth quarter DPU of S$0.0225 will be paid out on 15 June.
MPACT enjoyed a high portfolio occupancy of 95.4% and its aggregate leverage stood at 40.9% for FY2023.
Three-quarters of the REIT’s debt is hedged to fixed rates and it enjoyed a low cost of debt of just 2.68%.
AIMS APAC REIT (SGX: O5RU)
AIMS APAC REIT, or AAREIT, is an industrial REIT with 29 properties of which 26 are in Singapore and three in Australia.
As of FY2023, the REIT held total assets of around S$2.3 billion.
Gross revenue for the fiscal year rose 17.6% year on year to S$167.4 million while NPI improved by 18.7% year on year to S$122.5 million.
FY2023 DPU increased by 5.1% year on year to S$0.09944.
The DPU of S$0.02654 for the fourth quarter of FY2023 will be paid out on 28 June.
AAREIT enjoyed a very high portfolio occupancy of 98% with a strong positive rental reversion of 18.5%.
Its client retention rate also stood healthy at 78.4%.
The industrial REIT’s gearing came in at 36.1% with a blended cost of debt of 3.4%.
88% of its loans are on fixed rates, thus mitigating a sharp rise in borrowing costs due to the higher interest rate environment.
First REIT (SGX: AW9U)
First REIT is a healthcare REIT with 32 properties across Asia with an AUM of S$1.15 billion.
The REIT owns 15 assets in Indonesia, three nursing homes in Singapore and 14 nursing homes in Japan.
For 1Q 2023, total income rose 4.9% year on year to S$26.8 million with NPI inching up 2.7% year on year to S$25.8 million.
DPU, however, fell by 6.1% year on year to S$0.0062 for the quarter because of higher finance costs and the strong Singapore dollar.
The DPU will be paid on 26 June.
First REIT’s gearing stood at 39% as of 31 March 2023 and its cost of debt was fairly high at 4.7%.
62.8% of its debt is on fixed rates but the good news is that the REIT has no refinancing commitments until May 2025.
Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of iFAST Corporation Limited.
