It’s clear why blue-chip stocks are so popular.
Such companies have a long operating track record and are worth billions of dollars, making them stable and safe investments to consider.
Many of these stocks also pay an attractive dividend that adds to investors’ passive income flow.
The presence of clear catalysts provides an additional incentive to invest, though.
Investors need to watch for sustainable trends or corporate actions that demonstrate the company’s ability to continue growing.
As top and bottom lines rise, such businesses should enjoy a corresponding rise in share price, leading to capital gains for the Smart Investor.
Dividends may also rise in tandem when the company reports higher profits and cash flows.
Here are four Singapore blue-chip stocks that could bump up your portfolio’s value.
Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4)
Keppel Corp is an offshore and marine conglomerate with four main divisions — energy and environment, urban development, connectivity, and asset management.
The group announced its long-term strategic plan, Vision 2030, to help accelerate growth and harness technology.
Vision 2030 involves an asset-light model that was set in motion with the restructuring of Keppel’s offshore and marine division early last year.
The division will be split into three parts and the group will pivot slowly towards renewable energy and natural gas contracts.
Keppel is also exploring a potential combination with Sembcorp Marine Ltd (SGX: S51) to form a larger entity with the scale to bid for larger contracts.
These efforts are bearing fruit, with the group reporting its highest net profit in six years for fiscal 2021 (FY2021).
Keppel also more than tripled its FY2021 dividend to S$0.33 from just S$0.10 a year ago.
The group will focus on the continuation of its business transformation this year and targets to monetise assets over S$5 billion by the end of 2023.
CapitaLand Investment Limited (SGX: 9CI)
CapitaLand Investment Limited, or CLI, is a real estate investment manager with around S$122.9 billion of assets under management as of 31 December 2021.
It also owns around S$86.2 billion worth of real estate funds under management (FUM) as well as 29 private funds across Asia, Europe and the US.
CLI was spun out of property giant CapitaLand Limited when it announced that it would spin off its investment arm back in March last year.
The group reported a strong set of earnings for FY2021, with net profit clocking in at S$1.35 billion, reversing the loss incurred a year ago.
A final and special dividend of S$0.12 and S$0.03, respectively, were also declared.
Moving forward, CLI intends to grow its FUM to hit S$100 billion by 2024.
The property investment manager is also seeing a broad-based recovery in property fair values across its portfolio, allowing it to book fair value gains of S$233 million for FY2021.
Meanwhile, its lodging division plans to increase its units under management from the current 133,000 to 160,000 by 2023.
OCBC Ltd (SGX: O39)
OCBC is one of Singapore’s three big banks.
The lender reported a robust set of earnings for FY2021, with net profit increasing by 35% year on year to S$4.9 billion.
OCBC has also restored its dividends to the pre-pandemic level with a total payout of S$0.53 for FY2021.
Looking ahead, the rise in interest rates will benefit the bank’s net interest margin and boost its net interest income.
The bank also expects the global economic recovery to gather pace, and its key markets to enjoy GDP growth of between 3% to 6% this year.
Along with the reopening of borders and resumption of international travel, these events should grease the wheels of economic activity and lead to stronger loan growth for OCBC.
Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03)
Venture Corporation is a provider of technology products, services and solutions.
The group manages a portfolio of more than 5,000 products and employs over 12,000 people worldwide.
For FY2021, revenue inched up by 3.1% year on year to S$3.1 billion while net profit increased by 5% year on year to S$312.1 million.
In line with the results, Venture declared a final dividend of S$0.50, taking the total dividend for FY2021 to S$0.75.
The group remains sanguine on its prospects for FY2022.
Demand for technological devices remains strong in various domains such as life sciences, networking and communication, and advanced industrials.
Venture is also collaborating with its customers in high-growth segments and is gearing up for its expansion by investing in new technology, human capital and capabilities.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
