Time flies, and half of 2024 has passed by in a flash.
It is time to take stock of how various companies and sectors have performed so far.
Some sectors, such as banks, performed strongly while others like the REIT sector were pummelled because of high interest rates and inflation.
Despite the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) trading within a tight range in the first half of 2024 (1H 2024), several stocks chalked up double-digit percentage gains.
Here are five such stocks that may fit well into your buy watchlist.
DBS Group (SGX: D05)
DBS needs no introduction as Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation.
The blue-chip group saw its share price shoot up 19.4% year-to-date (YTD) and hit its all-time high of S$36.17.
DBS released a sparkling set of earnings for the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024).
The lender’s total income rose 13% year on year to a new high of S$5.56 billion, buoyed by an 8% year-on-year increase in net interest income.
The bank is benefitting from the surge in interest rates that has pushed its net interest margin for the quarter to 2.14%, up slightly from the 2.12% registered in the prior year’s quarter.
Net profit for 1Q 2024 stood at a record S$2.96 billion, up 15% year on year, while the annualised return on equity also achieved a new high of 19.4%.
DBS upped its quarterly dividend to S$0.54 per share, a significant jump from the S$0.38 paid out a year ago.
CEO Piyush Gupta believes that net interest income will end 2024 slightly higher than 2023 while the bank’s net profit will also be higher year on year.
Riverstone Holdings (SGX: AP4)
Riverstone is a manufacturer of nitrile and natural rubber cleanroom gloves for the electronics sector along with nitrile gloves for the healthcare sector.
The group owns six manufacturing facilities with an annual production capacity of 10.5 billion gloves.
Shares of Riverstone have been on a tear this year, rising by 36.6% YTD.
For 1Q 2024, the glovemaker’s revenue rose 4.8% year on year to RM 249.5 million.
Gross profit margin expanded by 13.1 percentage points from 1Q 2023 and net profit leapt 54.5% year on year to RM 72.2 million.
The better performance was because of the higher demand for cleanroom gloves coupled with a better product mix and lower costs.
The group declared an interim dividend of RM 0.04.
CEO Wong Teek Son is optimistic that the recovery of the semiconductor and consumer electronics industries will continue to drive demand for Riverstone’s gloves.
The group is building new lines to increase its capacity for cleanroom glove production to cater to the higher long-term demand.
InnoTek Ltd (SGX: M14)
InnoTek is a precision metals components manufacturer that serves the consumer electronics, office automation, and automotive industries.
The group owns five manufacturing facilities in China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
InnoTek’s share price rose 24.4% YTD to S$0.56.
The group announced a strong set of earnings for 2023 with revenue rising 10.1% year on year to S$205.6 million.
Net profit surged by 93.3% year on year to S$4.4 million, marking the group’s eighth consecutive year of profitability.
The components manufacturer declared and paid out a first and final dividend of S$0.02, unchanged from the previous year.
InnoTek is investing in new manufacturing capabilities in Vietnam to stay aligned with its main customers’ product strategies.
Management expects the business momentum to continue into this year.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings (SGX: BS6)
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, or YZJ, is one of China’s largest private shipbuilders.
The group has four shipyards in Jiangsu province and can produce a broad range of vessels such as large containerships, bulk carriers, and LNG vessels.
YZJ’s share price has shot up 55.8% YTD to S$2.40, making the shipbuilder the best-performing blue-chip company in Singapore.
Its 1Q 2024 business update saw the group hit a new high for its order book at US$16.08 billion.
A total of US$3.32 billion in order wins was secured YTD, making up 74% of its annual target.
Looking ahead, YZJ sees healthy demand growth for both LNG carriers and LPG carriers, driven by the global energy transition and the strong growth in shale gas production.
These trends should benefit the group as they will translate into higher demand for its manufacturing services.
Broadway Industrial Group (SGX: B69)
Broadway Industrial manufactures precision components and assemblies.
The group has five manufacturing facilities in China, Thailand, and Vietnam and provides actuator arms, assemblies, and other related parts to the hard disk drive industry.
Broadway’s share price has surged by 79% YTD to end at S$0.179 as the group reported a turnaround for the second half of 2023 (2H 2023).
For 2H 2023, revenue increased 6.7% year on year to S$132.3 million and the group generated a small net profit of S$3.9 million.
For 2023, however, revenue fell by 26.6% year on year to S$258.7 million while net profit plunged by 58.3% year on year to S$2.4 million.
A final dividend of S$0.005 was declared for the year.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of DBS Group.
