Time flies, and more than half of 2025 has flown by.
As the end of July approaches, it’s time for the third earnings season of this year.
The blue-chip stocks will start reporting their first half of 2025 earnings.
Investors will be closely scrutinising these results to assess how management is tackling the macroeconomic headwinds and Trump’s tariffs.
We picked out four blue-chip stocks that look well-positioned to report not just better results, but could also increase their dividends in tandem.
DBS Group (SGX: D05)
DBS is Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation and provides a comprehensive range of banking, insurance, and investment services.
The lender reported an admirable set of earnings for the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025) despite the imposition of a global minimum tax rate of 15%.
Commercial book net interest income inched up 2% year on year to S$3.7 billion as DBS’s loan book grew 2% year on year.
Fee and commission income shot up 22% year on year to S$1.3 billion, with higher wealth management and credit card fees.
Total income improved by 6% year on year to S$5.9 billion, but net profit dipped by 2% year on year because of the minimum tax rate.
DBS raised its quarterly dividend from S$0.54 in 1Q 2024 to S$0.75, comprising a core ordinary dividend of S$0.60 and a capital return dividend of S$0.15.
Interest rates could stay “higher for longer” as Trump’s tariffs reignite inflation, while strong jobs data in the US point to the central bank holding off from slashing rates for now.
Hence, DBS should see its net interest income holding up for 2Q 2025, and the bank has also committed to paying out the same level of dividends as 1Q 2025.
Fee income should also stay strong with robust wealth inflows into the Asian region, along with healthy consumer spending.
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68)
Singapore Exchange Limited, or SGX, is Singapore’s sole stock exchange operator.
Over the years, SGX has morphed into a multi-asset exchange by offering a wide suite of products to investors and fund managers.
For the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 31 December 2024, net revenue rose 15.6% year on year to S$646.4 million.
Net profit excluding one-off items surged 27.3% year on year to S$320.1 million.
SGX upped its interim quarterly dividend to S$0.09 from S$0.085.
With the bourse operator set to report its FY2025 results in the morning of 8 August, there’s evidence that the group could continue to increase its dividends.
Total derivatives volume for FY2025 climbed 17% year on year to 315.8 million contracts, with daily average volume up 17% year on year at 1.3 million contracts.
Securities market turnover climbed 28% year on year to S$336.4 billion for FY2025.
Management also communicated its intention to increase its dividend per share by a mid-single-digit % compound annual growth rate in the medium term.
Therefore, there is a high chance that SGX could increase its quarterly dividend above the S$0.09 that was declared for FY2024.
Hongkong Land Holdings (SGX: H78)
Hongkong Land Holdings, or HKL, is a property investment, management, and development group with a mixed-use real estate footprint spanning more than 830,000 square metres across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
The group reported a downbeat set of earnings for 2024 with underlying net profit tumbling 44% year on year to US$410 million.
However, HKL upped its annual dividend from US$0.22 to US$0.23.
The increase was due to the launch of HKL’s strategic vision for 2035, where the real estate giant plans to grow its assets under management while exiting the development space.
The plan to become asset-light will take place over the next decade, and management hopes to double HKL’s dividend from 2023’s levels.
The group will also rely on third-party capital to grow its asset base and focus on ultra-luxury properties as its niche.
When HKL announces its first half of 2025 (1H 2025) results, there is a high chance the group can pay out a higher interim dividend than 1H 2024’s US$0.06.
Keppel Ltd (SGX: BN4)
Keppel is a global asset manager providing solutions to the infrastructure, real estate, and connectivity sectors.
The group released an encouraging business update for 1Q 2025 with core net profit climbing by over 25% year on year.
Recurring income also made up more than 80% of this net profit.
Keppel also managed to grow its asset management fees by 9% year on year to S$96 million, showcasing steady progress in becoming more asset-light.
The group has a strategic plan called Vision 2030 and is aiming to grow its funds under management to S$200 billion by the end of 2030.
Around S$347 million in asset monetisation was announced year-to-date, and another S$550 million of potential real estate divestments are in advanced negotiations.
With a higher level of divestments and Keppel’s evolution to become an asset manager, there is a high chance that the group may raise its 1H 2025 interim dividend.
The group will be releasing its half-year results on 31 July and could pay out more than the S$0.15 per share in interim dividend for 1H 2024.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of DBS Group and Singapore Exchange Limited.
