The dividend stalwart may be on the cusp of unlocking more value for its shareholders.
September 3, 2025
Boustead Singapore (SGX: F9D) is one of the oldest companies in Singapore, having been founded way back in 1828 by Sir Edward Boustead.
The conglomerate is also a steady dividend stalwart and has paid out a dividend every single year since its IPO back in 2002.
As of 3 September 2025 (1:30pm), shares of Boustead have surged by more than 65% year-to-date, giving the group a market capitalisation of close to S$870 million.
That’s including a 14% gain today, at the time of writing.
Can the conglomerate continue to outperform and break through its 52-week high of S$1.72?
Let’s find out.
Multiple businesses
Before we dig deeper, let’s break down Boustead’s various businesses to gain a better understanding of the conglomerate.
Boustead has four key divisions – energy engineering, real estate, geospatial technology, and healthcare.
The energy engineering division sells heat transfer products, including furnaces, reformers, and crackers, as well as hydraulic process control systems.
The real estate solutions division, under Boustead Projects, provides turnkey engineering, project and construction management services.
The division also performs real estate development and leasing activities.
The geospatial division sells its ArcGIS software in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia, which provides location mapping and helps analyse and manage geographical data to make better decisions.
The healthcare division focuses on delivering innovative medical solutions to address chronic conditions and age-related issues.
The division also offers rehabilitative care, sports science, and wound care solutions.
A mixed set of earnings
Boustead delivered a mixed set of earnings for its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025.
Revenue declined by 31% year on year to S$527.1 million because of a lower order book recognised for the fiscal year.
Gross profit, however, inched up 3% year on year to S$233.3 million because of good cost control and higher gross margins.
Core net profit (excluding exceptional items) increased by 8% year on year to S$68.6 million.
In line with its track record of dividend payments, Boustead declared a final dividend of S$0.04 and a special dividend of S$0.02.
With these dividends, the total dividend for FY2025 stood at S$0.075, higher than the previous fiscal year’s S$0.055.
The conglomerate also generated a positive free cash flow of S$68 million, although this was lower than the prior year’s free cash flow of S$91.5 million.
Rebuilding its order book
Although revenue was down year on year for FY2025, management hinted at better days ahead as the group secured higher orders.
The energy engineering division saw orders secured for FY2025 more than double year on year to S$163 million.
These orders should sustain revenue in FY2026, but management warned that these orders had lower margins; hence, it may be tough to sustain the operating profit of S$26.8 million for the division for FY2025.
However, the outlook is bright as global energy demand continues to rise, with renewable energy uptake being slow, hence making the case for the continued use of oil and gas.
Years of underinvestment in capacity should also lead to catch-up investments for heat transfer equipment, which should boost demand for this product class.
Over at the real estate solutions division, the engineering and construction (E&C) arm secured S$214 million of contracts in FY2025, significantly higher than the S$81 million snagged for FY2024.
There is a continued need to replenish the order backlog for the E&C arm, and Boustead Singapore will build on its momentum in Malaysia.
The total engineering backlog as of FY2025 stood at around S$349 million, and is a notable increase from the prior year’s engineering backlog of S$247 million.
A potential REIT listing
Apart from replenishing its order book, management is also exploring a REIT listing to unlock the value of its industrial and logistics property portfolio.
Back in March this year, Boustead’s real estate division, Boustead Projects, along with Unified Industrial (UI), announced the formation of a vertically-integrated logistics real estate development, investment, and fund management platform called UIB.
This is a shrewd move that helps the division to ramp up its business with a new partner, opening up new opportunities and geographies for growth.
With access to third-party capital, UIB can help the division to grow faster, too.
On 12 June, Boustead Singapore announced that it is undertaking a strategic review of its stakes in its Singapore logistics and industrial properties, with a view to a potential sale into a REIT.
Just this week, the board updated that the group has made applications to both SGX and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on behalf of UIB in relation to an IPO of a REIT.
This IPO portfolio is proposed to include the group’s stakes in certain of its properties, along with other assets not held by Boustead.
The proposed sponsor for the REIT will be UIB, and Boustead Singapore holds an effective 20% shareholding in UIB.
Get Smart: Improving the order book and unlocking value
The outlook looks bright for Boustead as it rebuilds its order book.
More interestingly, the conglomerate could unlock more value for investors as it seeks a REIT listing.
There could be more interesting days to come for the group as it gears up to unlock value for investors.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Boustead Singapore.
