Singapore’s 10 most traded manufacturing stocks of 2019 have businesses that span maritime, F&B, value chain management, aerospace and hi-tech industries. Together the 10 stocks averaged 48% total returns in 2019.
The 10 stocks also provided for short term trading opportunities with average volatility of 33% during 2019, and a combined average daily turnover of S$136 million. Together the 10 stocks were also recipient of S$685 million in net institutional inflow.
Weaker global manufacturing outlooks for most of 2019 impacted the smaller capitalised manufacturing stocks more than the larger manufacturing capitalised stocks, possibly due to benefits of scale, and market resilience that can come with diversified business streams.
Tonight, the global manufacturing JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI for the month of December will be released. The preceding release for the month of November reported that the Global Manufacturing PMI edged back into expansion territory, to 50.3, after spending the preceding six months in contraction.
The November reading of the Singapore Purchasing Managers’ Index, at 49.8, was the seventh month of contraction for Singapore’s overall manufacturing sector, while the electronics sector (at 49.7 in November) was in contraction for all of the first 11 months of 2019. These two PMI’s have also been gradually contracting less in recent months.
Without a doubt, for much of 2019, a backdrop of trade uncertainty and a slowdown in global growth hampered corporate outlooks. At the same time, financial reports revealed that the multiple manufacturing companies with international businesses attempted to mitigate the risks with endeavors to fortify business streams and improve operational efficiency.
In Singapore, the 10 most traded manufacturing stocks of 2019 have businesses that span maritime, F&B, value chain management, aerospace and hi-tech industries. Together the 10 stocks averaged 48% total returns in 2019, with a median total return of 34%. The 10 stocks and their performances are tabled below.
| Name | Code | Mkt Cap (S$M) |
2019 Volatility |
2019 Price Change |
2019 Total Return |
Average Daily Turnover (S$M) |
Institution Inflow (S$M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING | BS6 | 4389 | 46% | -10% | -7% | 34 | 14 |
| WILMAR INTERNATIONAL | F34 | 26124 | 19% | 32% | 36% | 20 | 241 |
| VENTURE CORP | V03 | 4673 | 31% | 16% | 21% | 20 | -5 |
| SINGAPORE TECH ENGINEERING | S63 | 12276 | 17% | 13% | 17% | 17 | 146 |
| THAI BEVERAGE PCL | Y92 | 22351 | 29% | 46% | 49% | 15 | 187 |
| AEM HOLDINGS | AWX | 545 | 45% | 145% | 154% | 10 | 67 |
| SEMBCORP MARINE | S51 | 2762 | 33% | -14% | -14% | 8 | -56 |
| HI-P INTERNATIONAL | H17 | 1232 | 51% | 73% | 101% | 7 | 28 |
| UMS HOLDINGS | 558 | 553 | 34% | 81% | 90% | 3 | 57 |
| VALUETRONICS HOLDINGS | BN2 | 357 | 26% | 24% | 33% | 2 | 6 |
| Average | 33% | 40% | 48% | ||||
| Median | 32% | 28% | 34% |
Source: SGX StockFacts, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg (Data as of 31 December 2019)
As tabled above, the 8 non-maritime manufacturers all generated gains in 2019, ranging from 17% for ST Engineering to 154% for AEM Holdings. Globally, shipbuilders and providers of O&G services and equipment did not buck the global PMI trend, and generated a median decline of 3% for the 2019 year.
8 of the 10 most traded manufacturing stocks in Singapore also completed their 2019 financial year in December, with the earnings season to start in earnest in the last week of January. The 6 non-maritime manufacturers that completed their FY19 in December averaged 1% net profit growth for the first 9 months of 2019, ranging from a YoY decline of 28.4% for UMS Holdings to a 23.8% YoY increase for AEM Holdings. UMS Executive Chairman and CEO Andy Luong did note with the 9MFY19 results that there were signs of an upturn in the overall semiconductor industry as demand is picking up, with chip inventories easing, and new technological disruptors driving the growth of new products and capabilities.
| Name | Code | Mkt Cap (S$M) |
2019 Total Return |
FY End | Most Recent Financial Statement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING | BS6 | 4389 | -7% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| WILMAR INTERNATIONAL | F34 | 26124 | 36% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| VENTURE CORP | V03 | 4673 | 21% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| SINGAPORE TECH ENGINEERING | S63 | 12276 | 17% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| THAI BEVERAGE PCL | Y92 | 22351 | 49% | 30-Sep | Click Here |
| AEM HOLDINGS | AWX | 545 | 154% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| SEMBCORP MARINE | S51 | 2762 | -14% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| HI-P INTERNATIONAL | H17 | 1232 | 101% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| UMS HOLDINGS | 558 | 553 | 90% | 31-Dec | Click Here |
| VALUETRONICS HOLDINGS | BN2 | 357 | 33% | 31-Mar | Click Here |
Source: SGX StockFacts, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg (Data as of 31 December 2019)
Weaker global manufacturing outlooks for most of 2019 impacted the smaller capitalised manufacturing stocks more than the larger manufacturing capitalised stocks, possibly due to the benefits of scale and market resilience that can come with diversified business streams.
The largest 1000 manufacturers by market value across the world that operate over the Industrial, F&B and Technology sectors generated a median total return of 25% in 2019, more than triple the 8% median total return for the broader group of the largest 5000 manufacturers over the three sectors.
