It’s crucial to build up a source of passive income that can tide you through tough times.
This flow of passive income not only boosts your active income stream but also functions as a source of cash inflow when you retire.
Dividends are a great source of passive income as you can receive them even while you sleep.
Another advantage of dividend income is that they are tax-free.
We highlight three dependable dividend-paying stocks that can help you steadily build up your passive income stream.
NetLink NBN Trust (SGX: CJLU)
NetLink NBN Trust owns, designs, builds, and operates the passive fibre network infrastructure of Singapore’s Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN).
The group provides extensive network coverage to residential and non-residential premises in Singapore.
For its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025, NetLink NBN Trust saw revenue dip 1% year on year to S$407 million.
Net profit fell by 7.6% year on year to S$95.4 million, caused by an increase in depreciation and amortisation expenses, along with higher finance costs.
Despite the lower profit, the group announced a 1.1% year-on-year increase in distribution per unit (DPU) to S$0.0536.
Over the years, NetLink NBN Trust has steadily increased its DPU.
DPU went from S$0.0508 in FY2021 to S$0.0513 in FY2022, then increased further to S$0.0524 and S$0.053 for FY2023 and FY2024, respectively.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (1Q FY2026), NetLink NBN Trust reported a 1.9% year-on-year increase in revenue to S$102.8 million.
Net profit tumbled 9.2% year on year to S$23.3 million, primarily because of higher non-cash depreciation expenses arising from an expanded asset base.
Residential connections dipped slightly to 1.51 million from 1.52 million in the previous quarter as inactive and dormant lines were deactivated as part of regular housekeeping.
Excluding this, net additions would have been positive.
Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU)
Keppel DC REIT is a data centre REIT with a portfolio of 24 data centres across 10 countries.
Its portfolio is valued at around S$5 billion as of 30 June 2025.
For the first half of 2025 (1H 2025), gross revenue leapt 34.4% year on year to S$211.3 million.
Net property income climbed 37.8% year on year to S$182.8 million, and DPU increased by 12.8% year on year to S$0.05133.
Keppel DC REIT pulled off an admirable performance, being one of several REITs that posted a double-digit DPU increase.
The data centre REIT enjoyed a high portfolio occupancy of 95.8% and reported a strong positive rental reversion of around 51%.
Keppel DC REIT will continue to pursue third-party acquisitions in Japan, South Korea, and Europe with a focus on hyperscale data centres.
The REIT is also undertaking an ongoing review to reposition its assets and look for power intensification opportunities to unlock value for the portfolio.
The growth in the artificial intelligence space will power demand for data centres and provide attractive long-term tailwinds for Keppel DC REIT.
DBS Group (SGX: D05)
DBS Group should be a familiar name for most investors, being Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation.
The lender forms a key pillar of Singapore’s economy and boasts a track record of weathering multiple economic cycles.
DBS announced a resilient set of earnings despite the impending fall in global interest rates.
Total income rose 5% year on year for 1H 2025 to S$11.6 billion, driven by a 3.2% year-on-year increase in net interest income to S$7.3 billion.
Commercial book net fee and commission income climbed 17% year on year to S$2.4 billion, helping to increase total income by 5% year on year to S$11.6 billion.
Net profit, however, dipped by 1% year on year to S$5.7 billion because of the global minimum tax rate of 15%.
Excluding this, profit before tax would have hit a new record of S$6.8 billion.
DBS declared a total dividend of S$0.75 for the second quarter of 2025 (2Q 2025), comprising a core dividend of S$0.60 and a capital return dividend of S$0.15 to manage down its excess capital.
This total dividend is 39% higher than the S$0.54 paid out in 2Q 2024.
DBS has also shown its commitment to increasing its quarterly dividend, with management being comfortable to raise its quarterly dividend by S$0.06 per year for the foreseeable future, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Looking ahead, CEO Tan Su Shan expects 2025’s net interest income to be slightly above 2024 despite lower interest rates.
This performance can be achieved with strong deposit and loan growth.
Meanwhile, commercial book non-interest income is also projected to grow by mid-to-high single-digits, led by a double-digit year-on-year growth in wealth management fees.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of NetLink NBN Trust, Keppel DC REIT, and DBS Group.
