The SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that mimics Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI).
The ETF turned in a 9.5% return for July 2026.
Unfortunately, three blue chips fell short of that return.
Sembcorp Industries (SGX: U96) delivered negative 11.4% in total returns over the same period.
Venture Corporation (SGX: V03) and Singapore Technologies Engineering’s (SGX: S63) total returns came in at minus 7.8% and minus 4.5%, respectively.
Trailing an index is not the same as falling.
A stock can gain ground and still lag it.
None of the three published their results during July 2026.
The market reached its verdict on all three in a month when none of them spoke.
Can Sembcorp raise its dividend on falling revenue?
Sembcorp Industries provides energy and urban solutions across Singapore, India, China, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and the Middle East.
Its most recent published results cover FY2025, a full year to 31 December 2025.
Revenue fell 10% year on year (YoY) to S$5.8 billion.
Lower electricity offtake, lower pool prices and lower gas prices in Singapore drove the decline, and reduced plant availability in the United Kingdom added to it.
The divested waste management business contributed nothing this time.
New Renewables capacity in Singapore, India and the Middle East offset part of the fall.
Net profit attributable to owners dipped 3% YoY to S$984 million.
Excluding exceptional items and foreign exchange movements on the deferred payment note, profit reached S$1.0 billion, broadly flat YoY.
Free cash flow swung to a positive S$208 million from negative S$196 million in FY2024 as capital expenditure moderated.
Free cash flow is the lifeblood of dividends, and that swing carries more weight for an income holder than the revenue line above it.
The group declared a total ordinary dividend of S$0.25 for FY2025, up 9% from S$0.23.
The balance sheet asks for attention.
Cash of S$1.1 billion sat against total borrowings of S$9.0 billion, excluding lease liabilities, as at 31 December 2025.
Management expects re-contracting in Singapore to compress margins in Gas and Related Services.
Renewables capacity comes online progressively between 2026 and 2030, though curtailment and tariff pressure may affect China.
At the FY2025 release, management expected the Alinta Energy acquisition to complete by the end of 1H2026 and to broaden the group’s earnings base.
Sembcorp reports on 13 August 2026.
What did Venture’s headline growth leave out?
Venture Corporation supplies technology products, services and solutions through two portfolios.
Its latest published numbers cover 1Q2026, a single quarter to 31 March 2026.
Revenue edged up 1.9% YoY to S$628.5 million; on a constant currency basis it rose 8.2%.
Currency translation absorbed most of the underlying gain.
Earnings per share rose 0.9% YoY to S$0.195, and net profit reached S$56.3 million on a net margin of 9.0%.
Portfolio B grew S$42 million YoY on demand for AI-related infrastructure across its Test & Measurement Instrumentation, Networking & Communications and Semiconductor Related Equipment domains.
Portfolio A declined S$30 million as Lifestyle Consumer volumes fell after reliability improvements to a customer’s key product.
Venture declared no dividend for 1Q2026, in line with its practice of declaring at the half-year and full-year stages.
The group did not disclose free cash flow at this cadence.
It held a net cash position above S$1.0 billion as at 31 March 2026, after higher dividends and share buybacks paid during 2025.
Management expects the quarter’s improvement to extend through 2026.
The group is gaining traction in Hyperscale Data Centres and Life Science through its R&D Labs.
Venture reports on 6 August 2026.
Why did STE trail the index after 11% growth?
Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE) is a global technology, defence and engineering group operating across three segments: Defence & Public Security, Commercial Aerospace, and Urban Solutions & Satcom.
It serves customers in more than 100 countries.
STE released a 1Q2026 market update on 18 May 2026, its last publication before July.
Group revenue climbed 11% YoY to S$3.3 billion.
Excluding LeeBoy, divested in September 2025, rebased revenue grew 15%.
All three segments grew.
Defence & Public Security revenue rose 13% on a rebased basis to S$1.4 billion on contract wins across international defence markets.
Commercial Aerospace revenue rose 15% to S$1.3 billion on engine MRO work and nacelle deliveries.
Urban Solutions & Satcom revenue rose 18% to S$525 million, with Satcom alone growing more than 30%.
The group stated that net profit growth outpaced rebased revenue growth.
Quarterly business updates carry no profit or cash flow figures, so the size of that gap stays undisclosed.
STE declared a 1Q2026 interim dividend of S$0.04 per share.
For 2025 it paid an ordinary dividend of S$0.18 and a special dividend of S$0.05, taking the total to S$0.23.
The ordinary figure rose from S$0.17 the year before.
From 2026 the group applies a progressive dividend policy.
It adds an incremental dividend equal to one-third of any YoY increase in net profit, though the quarterly update leaves an investor without the profit figure to calculate it.
The order book stood at S$34.5 billion as at 31 March 2026.
Of that, S$8.0 billion is due for delivery over the rest of the year.
STE won S$4.8 billion in new contracts during the quarter.
The group held S$576 million in cash and cash equivalents as at 31 December 2025, three months earlier than the revenue figures above.
ST Engineering reports on 13 August 2026.
Get Smart: Focusing on the Right Things
Before you judge a laggard, find the date of its last publication and the period that publication covered.
STE last spoke in May, about a quarter that ended in March.
Sembcorp’s freshest numbers close a year that ended in December.
All three will report their latest results in August.
A verdict reached in silence tells you less than the numbers that end it.
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Disclosure: The Smart Investor does not own any of the shares mentioned.
