Welcome to this week’s top stock highlights where we feature snippets from earnings and corporate announcements.
Venture Corporation Ltd (SGX: V03)
Venture Corporation recently reported its fiscal 2021 (FY2021) earnings.
Revenue inched up 3.1% year on year to S$3.1 billion while net profit rose 5% year on year to S$312.1 million.
The group generated S$90.5 million of free cash flow, down from the S$425.1 million in the prior year.
Venture ended FY2021 with S$807.9 million of cash and no debt on its balance sheet.
The group proposed a final dividend of S$0.50 per share, similar to the level that was paid out last year.
FY2021’s dividend came up to S$0.75, giving its shares a trailing dividend yield of 4.3%.
The group is optimistic about its outlook for FY2022 and expects robust demand based on customers’ orders and forecasts.
It is seeing healthy demand for its products across different sectors such as life sciences, next-generation sequencing, instrumentation, and networking and communications.
Because of this, the group will be introducing several new products this year.
Venture intends to gear up for its next phase of growth by investing in technological competencies and by boosting its human capital.
Singapore Post Limited (SGX: S08)
Singapore Post Limited, or SingPost, has released its fiscal 2022 third quarter (3Q2022) business highlights for the period ended 31 December 2021.
Group revenue for the quarter jumped by 24% year on year to S$437 million, led by the year-end seasonal peak, stronger performances in freight management and e-commerce logistics, and the consolidation of a fourth-party logistics business in Australia.
Operating profit surged by 46% year on year to S$38 million partly due to lower rental rebates given to tenants within SingPost’s property division.
The postal company had a net cash balance of S$111 million as of 31 December 2021, down from S$179 million as of 31 March 2021, as the group took on borrowings for the acquisition of Freight Management Holdings Pty Ltd in Australia.
Moving on to operating metrics, the domestic post and parcel division’s e-commerce logistics arm enjoyed a 50% year on year jump in items delivered, hitting 15.5 million items delivered, up from 10.3 million a year ago.
However, the printed papers and letters division continued its inexorable decline, dipping by 9% year on year to 108 million.
The international post and parcel division also saw a 21% year on year fall in goods delivered, coming in at 4.8 million kg compared to 6.1 million in the prior year.
Meanwhile, SingPost’s property division reported committed occupancy of 92.1% as of end-2021, down from 98.5% the year before.
The cause of the decline was due to the group’s industrial segment, which remains vacant as management continues to source suitable tenants.
SingPost is moving ahead with its “Future of Post” initiative to help the group capture more e-commerce growth.
It remains sanguine on its international post and parcel division as it believes better days will come once flight capacity recovers.
At the same time, the group is working on integrating its international operations to provide a one-stop cross-border solution.
Ho Bee Land Ltd (SGX: H13)
Ho Bee released a sparkling set of earnings for FY2021.
Revenue surged by 61.2% year on year to S$347.7 million, driven by the sale of properties in Turquoise in Sentosa Cove and Parklakes 2 in Queensland, Australia.
The group also enjoyed positive rental reversions for several of its London properties in FY2021 which resulted in higher rental income.
Operating profit soared by 78.3% year on year to S$281.8 million, aided by fair value gains of S$53.1 million for the group’s properties and S$37.7 million on the market value of its financial assets.
As a result, net profit more than doubled year on year to S$330.5 million in FY2021.
Ho Bee declared a final dividend of S$0.10 per share. In FY2020, the group had paid out a final dividend of S$0.08 and a special dividend of S$0.02.
Shares of Ho Bee offered a trailing dividend yield of 3.5%.
The property group has acquired more sites in Australia in the last 12 months to add to its land bank, with a total pipeline of 4,600 land lots.
These land parcels, when developed over the next few years, should provide a stream of recurring income for Ho Bee.
The group’s biomedical project in one-north, Elementum, also started construction in March 2021 and will be completed in the third quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, Ho Bee had also announced the acquisition of a prestigious office tower in London known as The Scalpel for £718 million.
This property has secured 10-year leases that translate to an attractive yield of 4% based on passing rent.
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Disclaimer: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
