The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) is not having a great May; thus far, it has tumbled around 7%. That seems to have left some of the index’s components languishing at their 52-week low prices. Let’s look at three blue chips that are selling at the bottom. The trio of beaten-down blue chips The three blue-chip shares that are selling near their respective 52-week lows are Singapore Airlines Ltd (SGX: C6L), Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SGX: T39), and Sembcorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96). Company Share Price 52-Week Intraday Low Price Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio Dividend Yield Singapore Airlines S$9.13 S$9.14 16 0.8 3.3% Singapore Press Holdings S$2.32 S$2.31 14 1.1 3.7% Sembcorp Industries S$2.46 S$2.43 12 0.6 1.6%  Source: SGX Stoc

We are now in the busiest part of earnings season. Many companies have reported their results over the past few weeks — some of them have had good news to share, and some bad. Today, we’re focusing on two companies that delivered growth in their latest results. United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11) is first on the list with some positive results. For the quarter ended 31 March 2019, UOB reported that net interest income grew by 8% year on year to S$1.6 billion. The improvement in net interest income was mainly due to 12% growth in customer loans. Similarly, non-interest income was up by 8% year on year to S$819 million. As a result, total income also increased by 8% year on year to S$2.4 billion. Net profit also grew by 8% year on year to S$1.1 billion. No dividend was declared b

At the end of April 2019, City Developments Limited (SGX: C09) announced that it had acquired a 50% stake in IREIT Global Group Pte Ltd, the manager of IREIT Global (SGX: UD1U), and a 12.4% stake in the real estate investment trust (REIT) itself. The total amount was around S$77.8 million. The acquisition was carried out in order to grow its fund management business, and it would immediately contribute to recurring income through management fees and an attractive distribution yield. At IREIT Global’s current unit price of S$0.75, it has a yield of 7.7% and a price-to-book ratio of 1.04. Let’s take a closer look at three main aspects that investors might like about IREIT Global. Freehold portfolio IREIT Global currently owns five freehold office properties in Germany’s cities of Berli

On 21 May 2019, the market closed with shares of SATS Ltd (SGX: S58) at S$5.09 each. The company’s shares have grown around 230% over the past decade. In comparison, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) rose only 36% over the same time frame. How did SATS manage to produce such a great return in the past decade, beating the Straits Times Index so handsomely? There are three possible reasons. Great underlying business SATS is a provider of food solutions and gateway services solutions. Under the food solutions business, it provides services such as in-flight catering and institutional catering. Under the gateway services solutions segment, it is involved in ground handling, security services, and baggage handling, among others. SATS has been growing its business from strength to strength

City Developments Limited (SGX: C09) is one of the three property developers in the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI). CDL is a leading real estate company with a presence in 29 countries and regions. Its property portfolio consists of residences, offices, hotels, serviced apartments, integrated developments, and shopping malls. Here are the important points to take note of from CDL’s latest earnings report. The key numbers Revenue for the quarter was down 29.5% to S$746.2 million while gross profit decreased 4.9% to S$352.1 million. CDL’s profit, on the other hand, increased by 51.9% to S$211.5 million. Similarly, profit attributable to equity holders skyrocketed 133.8% year-on-year to S$199.6 million. CDL’s earnings per share (EPS), followed suit rising by 134% to 22 cents year-on-

SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), or SATS for short, is a company providing gateway services and food solutions, catering mainly to the aviation industry. SATS is present in over 60 locations and 13 countries across Asia and the Middle East. On Thursday, the group released its full-year 2019 (FY 2019) earnings for the period ended 31 March 2019. Revenue and operating profit saw very healthy growth, and operating indicators were all up year-on-year but net profit was impacted due to the presence of one-off gains in FY 2018. Here are seven highlights from the earnings report, as well as a commentary on SATS’ prospects and plans for growing the business. 1. Group revenue grew 6% year-on-year for FY 2019 to S$1.83 billion from S$1.72 billion. Expenditure rose by a smaller 5.5% year-on-year, which led

The Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced in a press release on 7 May 2019 that they have launched a public consultation to seek views from industry and the public on the appropriate regulatory frameworks and policies to implement a 5G network in Singapore. A key proposal made by IMDA would be to facilitate “sustainable competition”, with at least two nationwide 5G networks at the outset, while encouraging telecommunication companies (telcos) to build out the infrastructure. The four telcos in Singapore include Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74), M1 Limited, StarHub Limited (SGX: CC3) and TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM), with the onus on them to commit to constructing appropriate infrastructure to support IMDA’s planned initiatives. But

SATS Ltd (SGX: S58) is a company providing food solutions and gateway services solutions. The Food Solutions segment covers airline catering, food distribution, and industrial catering, whereas the Gateway Solutions segment is involved in the ground handling services of passengers, flights, and cargo. Let’s dig deep into SATS’s return on equity, or ROE. The choice of ROE We’re using one metric — the return on equity, or ROE — to understand SATS’s business. This financial metric gives investors important insight into a company’s ability to generate a profit using the shareholders’ capital it has. A ROE of 20% means a company generates $0.20 in profit for every dollar of shareholders’ capital invested. In general, the higher a company’s ROE, the more profi

Share repurchases can be a good thing if done for the right reasons. That’s if the company’s shares are undervalued and the reinvestment opportunities into the firm are not as attractive. On that note, let’s look at three companies that have repurchased their shares so far during the week, as of the market open on 17 May. Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U) Keppel REIT is a commercial real estate investment trust (REIT) with assets in Singapore and Australia. At the end of April 2019, the REIT announced its first investment in South Korea, a freehold office building located in Seoul’s central business district. On 13 May 2019, the REIT’s manager bought back 550,000 units at a price range of between S$1.22 and S$1.23 per unit. The cost came up to slightly below S$673,800. For its first q

Singapore Airlines Ltd (SGX: C6L), the national carrier of Singapore, reported a downbeat set of earnings yesterday for the full fiscal year ending 31 March 2019 (2018/2019). Here are some of the key financial highlights from its latest full-year results: 1) Revenue grew 3.27% year-on-year to S$16.3 billion. 2) Total operating costs increased by 7.0% to S$15.3 billion. 3) As a result, operating profit declined by 31.1% to S$1.07 billion. 4) Profit attributable to shareholders followed suit, dropping by 47.5%, from S$1.30 billion to S$682.7 million. 5) Similarly, earnings per share plunged by 47.6% from 110.1 cents to 57.7 cents. 6) As of 31 March 2019, SIA’s balance sheet had S$2.94 billion in cash and bank balances, and S$6.65 billion in total debt. This translates to a net debt positio

Yesterday, Sembcorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96) released its 2019 first-quarter earnings update. Sembcorp Industries is a bona fide conglomerate with four major business segments: Energy, Marine, Urban Development, and Other Businesses. The Marine segment is made up of Sembcorp Industries’ 61% ownership stake in Singapore-listed marine engineering firm Sembcorp Marine Ltd (SGX: S51). Here are 10 things investors should know about Sembcorp Industries’ latest results: Revenue for the reporting quarter fell 10% year on year to S$2.5 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter jumped 22% year on year to S$349 million. Profit from operations for the quarter also improved by 4% year on year to S$223 million, driven mainly by stronger p

1. SPH REIT  --  5th Apr 20192. SPH  --  9th Apr 20193. First REIT  --  10th Apr 20194. Kep Infra Trust  --  15th Apr 20195. Kep DC Reit  --  15th Apr 20196. Kep-KBS US Reit  --  16th Apr 20197. Kep Reit  --  17th Apr 20198. Soilbuild REIT  --  17th Apr 20199. Kep Corp  --  18th Apr 201910. CapitaComm Trust  --  18th Apr 201911. MapletreeInd Trust  --  22nd Apr 201912. MapletreeCom Trust  --  23rd Apr 201913. FrasersCom Trust  --  23rd Apr 201914. Suntec Reit  --  24th Apr 201915. CapitaMall Trust -- 24th Apr 201916. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  24th Apr 201917. CapitaR China Trust  --  24th Apr 201918. SGX  --  25th Apr 201919.

ComfortDelGro Corporation Ltd (SGX: C52) is a Singapore-based land transportation conglomerate with business interests in the bus, taxi and rail services. Apart from Singapore, it has a presence in six other countries, namely, China, the UK, Australia, Malaysia, Ireland, and Vietnam. ComfortDelGro announced its financial results for the first quarter ending 31 March 2019, yesterday. Let’s have a quick look to see how it did. Financial highlights  Here are some of the key financial highlights from the latest full-year results: 1) Revenue grew 7.8% year-on-year to S$947.3 million. The increase in revenue was on the back of strong contributions from new acquisitions which accounted for close to 80% of the increase in revenue. 2) Total operating costs followed suit increased by 7.3% to S$8

We are now in the busiest part of the earnings season. Given that many companies are reporting their results at the same time, it might be useful to categorise them into three buckets of positive, negative and mixed. In this article, we will look at two companies that have recently reported mixed results. StarHub Ltd (SGX: CC3) is the first company that we will look at in this article. As a quick introduction, StarHub is one of the three Singapore companies in the telecommunications industry, behind Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74) and ahead of M1 Ltd (SGX: B2F). In its latest quarterly earnings update, Starhub reported that revenue was up 6% year-on-year to S$597 million while service revenue declined 1% year-on-year to S$444 million. Quarterly earnings before interest

So, now we know. US importers that bring Chinese-made goods into America must pay a tariff of 25% on some US$200 billion worth of items,  rather than just 10%. China is unlikely to take this lying down. It has threatened to retaliate. We wait with bated breath. Staying in America, retail sales for April could provide some clues to the impact of higher import prices on consumer spending. They are expected to show a sharp drop in growth from the previous month. But retail sales growth in China in April could be almost unchanged from the previous month at 8.7%. Malaysia will report retail sales for March. It is expected to have grown 7.7% from a year ago, which would be slower than the 8.5% in February. Malaysia is also expected to say that the economy grew at an annualised rate of 4.5% in

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Earlier this month, the US Federal Reserve came to a decision to maintain a larger balance sheet relative to the pre-2008 crisis period. This decision to end quantitative tightening came earlier after much internal deliberation. Revising Balance Sheet Normalisation Principles The Fed also announced the revision and replacement of its balance sheet normalisation principles. It will cease downsizing its balance sheet starting from October 2019. It will focus on holding treasury securities while its holdings of mortgage-backed securities gradually run-off to zero. Starting from October 2019, principal repayments received from mortgage-backed securities would be reinvested in treasury securities, subject to a maximum of US$20 billion per month. The Fed Slamming Brakes On Interest Rate Hike In

Here are some of the most popular articles that have appeared on The Motley Fool Singapore’s website for the month. 3 Shares I Would Buy With S$10,000 If you had S$10,000, which stocks would you buy? In this article, I explore three companies – iFAST Corporation Ltd (SGX: AIY), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), and SBS Transit Ltd (SGX: S61) – that I would purchase. 4 Facts About Singapore REITs “S-REITs performed well in the first quarter. Here are some interesting things to note.” Institutional Investors Have Been Selling These 2 Singapore REITs in March Lawrence Nga studies two REITs that had the highest net disposal in dollar value by institutional investors in March. Jump into the article to learn more about those REITs. 5 Singapore Blue-Chip Shares With the Highest Dividend Yields

In the first quarter of 2019, local benchmark Straits Times Index ended flat as investors juggled between worries about higher US recession risks and the impending outcome of the US-China trade talks. The only bright spot was the S-REIT sector as it outperformed on the Fed’s dovish interest rate hike forecast. The slowdown in hike came from lower GDP growth expectations and rising unemployment, leading to the inversion of US yield curve to heighten recession fears. According to DBS, here are three investment strategies for you to jumpstart your portfolio. Investors Takeaway: 3 Investment Strategies To Jumpstart Your Portfolio By DBS Strategy 1: ‘Peak’ Interest Rate, Uncertain Growth Environment Calls For Greater Focus On Yield/Defensive Stocks According to the Fed’s dot plot, they

There has been a lot in the news recently surrounding the aviation industry. #1 Changi Airport was recently crowned the best airport in the world for the 7th year running. Plans to upgrade Terminal 2 have also been announced. #2 Singapore Airlines released their own 3.03% 5-year SIA Bonds 2019 that was oversubscribed. SIA has since upsized the bond from $500 million to $750 million. #3 Unfortunate events surrounding Boeing’s 787 Max have resulted in the aircraft being grounded till further notice. #4 Jewel Changi Airport will be opened on 17 April. Jewel is Changi Airport’s retail and lifestyle development with more than 280 shops and food and beverage outlets. Here are 4 stocks on SGX that play a role in the aviation industry in Singapore and around the region. Read Also: Non-Stop