The Lunar New Year has arrived, bringing in the festive cheer as we celebrate with family and friends.
This joyous occasion involves the exchange of red packets, or ang pows, filled with money to symbolise prosperity.
The stock market can also provide such ang pows in the form of dividends.
By adding dividend-paying stocks to your portfolio, you can enjoy a source of passive income that will supplement your earned income.
Here are five Singapore stocks that dish out dependable dividends.
Boustead Singapore Limited (SGX: F9D)
Boustead Singapore Limited, or BSL, is a conglomerate with four key divisions – energy engineering, real estate, geospatial technology, and healthcare.
The engineering group has been a consistent payer of dividends because of its consistent free cash flow generation.
Annual dividends stood at S$0.03 from fiscal 2018 (FY2018) to FY2020 and increased to S$0.04 from FY2021 to FY2023.
A special dividend of S$0.04 per share was also paid out in FY2021 in line with the creation of Boustead Industrial Fund, a private fund owning a portfolio of properties.
For FY2022 and FY2023, BSL generated a positive free cash flow of S$51.2 million and S$74 million, respectively.
For its recent first half of fiscal 2024 (1H FY2024), the group saw revenue jump 49% year on year to S$367.9 million while core net profit surged 89% year on year to S$25.8 million.
Free cash flow came in at S$97.4 million for the half year and BSL declared an interim dividend of S$0.015, unchanged from a year ago.
United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11)
United Overseas Bank, or UOB, is Singapore’s third-largest bank.
The blue-chip lender has a storied track record of paying out consistent dividends.
For the first half of 2023 (1H 2023), the bank paid out an interim dividend of S$0.85 on the back of a strong set of earnings.
This dividend was higher than the S$0.60 paid out in the prior year.
UOB’s dividend has been steadily rising since 2020 when it paid out an annual dividend of S$0.78.
2021 saw this payout increase to S$1.20 while 2022 saw the total dividend increase to S$1.35 per share.
UOB reported an encouraging set of earnings for its 2023 third quarter (3Q 2023) with core net profit rising by 5% year on year to S$1.5 billion.
The lender could further increase its final dividend when it reports its 2023 earnings on 22 February.
NetLink NBN Trust (SGX: CJLU)
NetLink NBN Trust designs, builds, owns and operates the passive fibre infrastructure for Singapore’s next-generation broadband network.
The trust’s policy is to distribute 100% of its cash available for distribution and has seen its distribution per unit (DPU) head steadily higher over time.
FY2021 saw DPU coming in at S$0.0508. FY2022’s DPU increased to S$0.0513 while FY2023 saw NetLink NBN Trust pay out a total of S$0.0524 per unit.
For 1H FY2024, the trust declared and paid a DPU of S$0.0265, slightly higher than the S$0.0262 paid out a year ago.
For the first nine months of FY2024, NetLink NBN Trust reported a 3.2% year on year increase in revenue to S$309.4 million with a 4% year on year improvement in net profit to S$85.1 million.
Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX: OV8)
Sheng Siong is one of the largest supermarket chains in Singapore with 69 outlets across the island.
These outlets sell a wide assortment of items ranging from fresh and chilled produce to daily necessities such as toiletries and essential household products.
Sheng Siong has been a reliable dividend payer over the years but the pandemic saw the group up its dividend to a higher level.
In 2018 and 2019, an annual dividend of S$0.034 and S$0.0355 was paid out, respectively.
This dividend increased to S$0.065 in 2020 and for 2022, the annual dividend came in at S$0.0622.
For 1H 2023, Sheng Siong paid out an interim dividend of S$0.0305, slightly lower than the prior year’s S$0.0307.
The retailer posted a resilient set of earnings for 9M 2023 with revenue rising 2.6% year on year to S$1.04 billion.
Net profit dipped slightly to S$100.3 million from S$100.4 million a year ago.
The group’s free cash flow, however, climbed 20% year on year for 9M 2023 to S$125.1 million, bolstering Sheng Siong’s ability to pay out an attractive final dividend.
Credit Bureau Asia (SGX: TCU)
Credit Bureau Asia, or CBA, provides credit and risk information solutions to an extensive network of clients that includes banks, multinational corporations, and government bodies.
The group reported a resilient set of earnings for 1H 2023 with revenue rising 12.3% year on year to S$26.4 million.
Net profit improved by 15.6% year on year to S$10.7 million.
Free cash flow for 1H 2023 came in at S$11.8 million, 13.8% higher than the S$10.4 million generated in the prior year.
An interim dividend of S$0.017 was declared and paid, similar to what was paid out a year ago.
CBA paid out a total dividend of S$0.034 for 2022 and 2021, showcasing its consistency in dishing out part of its profits to investors.
Our team has spent decades scouring SGX for stocks. And we think dividends could be the answer to rising inflation and market uncertainty in 2023. With our newest FREE report, you’ll have everything you need to find, keep and make more money from dividend stocks. Click here to download it for free.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Boustead Singapore and NetLink NBN Trust.
