It has admittedly been a tough year for investors.
The combination of soaring inflation and higher interest rates has weighed on sentiment and dampened consumer spending.
Income-seeking investors will note that the REIT sector has been hit by these headwinds.
Growth investors also saw technology stocks tumble last year from their highs as macroeconomic challenges stepped in.
Despite these occurrences, there is still a crop of companies that are seeing their share prices hit a 52-week high.
These stocks may have a sturdy business model that can continue to do well, thus allowing them to enjoy such a healthy run.
We highlight four of such stocks to determine if they can continue to hit new 52-week highs.
Food Empire Holdings (SGX: F03)
Food Empire is a food and beverage (F&B) manufacturing and distribution business offering beverages such as 3-in-1 instant coffee, chocolate drinks, bubble tea, and others.
The group owns eight manufacturing facilities in five countries and has 23 offices worldwide and also owns proprietary brands such as MacCoffee, CafePHO, Hillway, and Klassno.
Food Empire’s share price recently touched a year-high of S$1.13 but recently closed at S$1.05, almost double the level it was a year ago.
The group recently released its fiscal 2023’s first quarter (1Q 2023) business update.
Revenue jumped 24.2% year on year to S$102.6 million while gross profit improved by 43.2% year on year to S$36.6 million.
Because of lower foreign exchange losses, net profit surged by 50.9% year on year to S$13.8 million.
The key contributors to the revenue increase were the “Russia” and “Ukraine, Kazakhstan and CIS” regions which saw a 44% and 52.2% year on year jump in sales, respectively.
Food Empire’s “South Asia” segment also fared well with a near-30% year on year increase in revenue to S$10.9 million.
The group plans to increase marketing and promotional activity in Vietnam to achieve higher revenue for the South Asia segment with the expansion of a non-dairy creamer factory set to contribute to the top line in the fourth quarter of this year.
Delfi Limited (SGX: P34)
Delfi manufactures and distributes branded consumer products such as chocolates and other confectionary.
The group has a portfolio of established brands such as SilverQueen and Ceres in Indonesia and Goya and Knick-Knacks in the Philippines.
Delfi’s share price hit a 52-week high of S$1.35 and closed at S$1.28 recently, up 73% in a year.
The group reported a sterling set of earnings for 2022.
Revenue rose 19.2% year on year to US$483 million, led by a 17.5% year on year increase in revenue in Indonesia, its key market.
Gross profit margin improved slightly from 29.5% in 2021 to 30.7% in 2022.
Net profit jumped nearly 50% year on year to US$43.9 million.
A final dividend of US$0.02 and sa special dividend of US$0.0072 were declared, bringing 2022’s total dividend to US$0.043.
Delfi saw its inventories rise from US$64.8 million in 2021 to US$115.5 million in 2022 in anticipation of better sales for this year.
Sembcorp Industries Ltd (SGX: U96)
Sembcorp Industries, or SCI, is a blue-chip energy and urban solutions provider.
The group’s share price scaled a new 52-week high of S$4.80 recently, and at S$4.72 currently, is up nearly 69% in the past year.
For 2022, SCI’s revenue rose 21% year on year to S$9.4 billion.
Net profit more than tripled year on year from S$279 million to S$848 million, but included one-off and exceptional items.
Excluding these, net profit still surged 87% year on year to S$883 million.
The group continues to build up its renewables portfolio, with its latest acquisition closing on 30 March for 892 MW of operational wind and solar assets in China.
This purchase brings SCI’s renewables portfolio of assets in operation and under development to 10.3 GW, exceeding its 2025 target of hitting 10 GW.
ISEC Healthcare (SGX: 40T)
ISEC Healthcare provides a comprehensive range of eye care services with surgical centres in Malaysia, a specialist clinic in Singapore, and ophthalmology centres in Yangon, Myanmar.
The group’s share price hit a 52-week high of S$0.37 and has retreated to S$0.32, but is still 10% higher than it was last year.
ISEC Healthcare also released an encouraging set of earnings for 1Q 2023.
Revenue jumped 43% year on year to S$16.9 million, buoyed by a significant increase in patient visits as countries lifted their COVID-19 restrictions.
Net profit surged 45% year on year to S$3.4 million.
The group also generated a positive free cash flow of S$3.2 million, higher than the S$2.1 million generated in the same period last year.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Delfi.
