Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (SGX: D5IU) reported its 2018 full-year earnings, on Friday 22 February. As a quick introduction, Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust is a REIT with a portfolio of 23 retail malls and seven retail spaces across Indonesia. Here are nine things investors should know about the REIT’s latest results: Gross revenue for the year increased 16.4% to S$230.3 million, while its net property income declined by 10.5% to S$164.9 million. Gross revenue increased on the back of the collection of service and utilities recovery charges from tenants. The huge drop in net income was attributed to three reasons: 1) A significant weakening of the Indonesian rupiah, 2) New tax regulations that mandate a 10% tax on service and utility recovery charges and 3) Increase in total

On 21 February, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63), or STE, reported its 2018 full-year results. As a quick introduction, STE is a conglomerate with business interest in various sectors, namely aerospace, electronics, land systems, marine, and others. Here, we will look at 10 things investors should know from the company’s latest earnings update. Revenue for the reporting period grew by 2.7% year on year to S$6.7 billion. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the year improved by 5.0% year on year to S$570.3 million. Yet, profit attributable to shareholders for the year declined by 1.7% year on year to S$494.2 million. Earnings per share (EPS) fell from 16.13 Singapore cents last year to 15.85 Singapore cents in 2018. ST Engineering generated operating cash f

On Thursday, Wilmar International Limited (SGX: F34) released its 2018 fourth-quarter earnings update. Wilmar is an agricultural company that operates through four main segments: tropical oils, oilseeds and grains, sugar, and other. Here are 10 things investors should know about Wilmar’s latest results: Revenue for the quarter fell by 3.0% to US$11.1 billion. Gross profit was down by 8.8% to US$975.1 million. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) declined by 8.0% to US$774.1 million. Net profit for the quarter plunged 52.9% to US$200.9 million. Core net profit fared better, down by “only” 10.3% year on year to S$334.7 million. The conglomerate’s gross margin declined from 9.3% last year to 8.8% this quarter. Similarly, its EBITDA margin fell fro

1. SPH Reit  --  4th Jan 20192. SPH  --  11th Jan 20193. First Reit  --  16th Jan 20194. FrasersCom Trust  --  18th Jan 20195. Kep Reit  --  21st Jan 20196. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  21st Jan 20197. Mapletreelog Trust  --  21st Jan 20198. Kep DC Reit  --  22nd Jan 20199. Kep Infra Trust  --  22nd Jan 201910. MapletreeInd Trust  --  22nd Jan 201911. MapletreeCom Trust  --  23rd Jan 201912. Kep T&T  --  23rd Jan 201913. Suntec Reit  --  23rd Jan 201914. CapitaMall Trust  --  23rd Jan 201915. SGX  --  24th Jan 201916. Kep-KBS US Reit  --  24th Jan 201917. Kep Corp  --  24th Jan 201918. Frasers L&T  --  24th Jan

With the negative momentum from 2018, the STI could remain under pressure despite the strong performance in January 2019, according to RHB. While the valuation and dividend yield of STI makes it compelling for long-term investments, RHB thinks that investors should continue to stay selective in navigating the market in 2019. RHB recommends four investment strategies that focus on stocks with stable earnings, strong balance sheets and sustainable dividends. Investors Takeaway: 4 Investment Strategies To Navigate Singapore’s Stock Market By RHB Rotate Into Defensive Sectors While RHB notes that the markets could move sideways for now, RHB believes that now is not the time to abandon risk assets, especially for long-term investors. RHB highlights that the current sell-off in the market is

SIA Engineering Company Ltd (SGX: S59) or SIAEC for short, reported a drop in revenue and earnings due to one-time events from joint-venture companies. SIAEC specialises in aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. Specifically, SIAEC provides complete MRO services in airframe, component, engine, aircraft conversions and modifications to 80 international airlines worldwide. SIAEC released its third-quarter results for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2019 last evening. Financial highlights The following is a quick summary of the financial figures: Gross revenue for the quarter came in at S$255.9 million, down 5.6% from S$271 million the year before. Profit attributable to owners stood at S$33.1 million, declining 40.1% from S$55.6 million year on year. Following suit, ea

Investing can be a difficult process, and great investment ideas are few and far between. Aside from reading extensively and digging deep into news articles and annual reports, investors may also look for short-cuts by mimicking others’ portfolios. This is especially common when people recognise an influential investor or encounter an expert investor who is held in high regard. Here are some reasons why this is a bad idea. Different Investment Goals This should be fairly obvious on the outset – the guru or expert would have very different investing goals and objectives compared to the investor who is mimicking him. This implies that the investor who copies his actions may inadvertently end up with a portfolio which does not suit his personal preferences and circumstances. Lag T

Investors are probably familiar with the horde of sell-side reports issued by various brokerages which tout the “fair value” of a particular stock. When business conditions change, the analysts who write these reports would adjust their assumptions, and their spreadsheets and financial models would spit out a different fair value, leading them to alter their conclusion about the stock. The question here would be – is it really necessary to calculate the exact value of a company, and how accurate are these methods anyway? Financial Models and Spreadsheets Analysts use a variety of financial models and methods to estimate the fair value of listed companies. These are spreadsheet-based computations which incorporate a variety of assumptions on margins, growth rates and debt

Just as I finished my article on capital expenditure under the investment demystified series, it suddenly occurred to me that I needed to explain a little more on the different types of approaches for expenses and capital expenditure, even though technically they sound similar. Without going into the details and nuances of accounting, I will attempt to provide a simple and succinct explanation of the difference here, so that readers can better appreciate the different types of accounting treatments to make their analysis more accurate. Expense Recognition – Profit And Loss Statement Expenses seem straightforward enough – they consist of what an organisation spends on various operational activities such as selling, distribution, rental and marketing. These are “direct̶

As a new year begins, investors may also be preparing for new experiences as well as new challenges when it comes to investing. Those who are active in monitoring their portfolios may decide that it’s time to do an annual review, and this article will help to highlight key areas to check on and look out for within the portfolio. Companies Which Are Performing Well The first category of stocks to look at within the portfolio are companies which are doing well business-wise. The review should assess if their competitive moat remains strong, or if moat trends may be negative or positive. Are there continued catalysts for the business which will carry forward into the new year and possibly many years ahead? Finally, it’s important to also do another review of the risks pertaining

SIA Engineering Company Ltd (SGX: S59) and Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63) are two prominent engineering groups listed in Singapore. The two companies can also be classified as income shares since they have dividend yields that are higher than that of the market average. However, which of the two gives investors more bang for their buck? To help answer that, let’s compare the dividend yields, dividend historical growth rates, and dividend payout ratios of the two firms. Dividend yield SIA Engineering’s share price is currently at S$2.51, giving the company a trailing dividend yield of 4.8%. On the other hand, at ST Engineering’s share price of S$3.75 now, it has a trailing dividend yield of 4%. The above shows that in terms of dividend yield alone, SIA Engineer

QAF Limited (SGX: Q01) is a food production company. The company organises its businesses into three segments, namely Bakery, Primary Production, Trading and Logistics, and Investments. At the current price of S$0.69 (at the time of writing), the company’s stock is down 39% from its 52-week high of S$1.13. If QAF Limited is a high-quality business, its current low stock price could be an investment opportunity. There’s no easy answer to that question, but one simple metric can help shed some light: return on invested capital (ROIC). A brief introduction to ROIC In a previous article, I explained how ROIC can be used to evaluate the quality of a business. The simple idea behind the metric is that a business with a higher ROIC requires less capital to generate a profit, and it thus give

With the 90-day truce in the US-China trade war coming to a halfway mark, attention is now on the outcome of those talks. While the news so far appears to be indicating that the talks will end in a positive note, it is hardly a foregone conclusion. Things could still change in a swift if either party changes its mind. So, what happens if the US-China trade talks fall apart? Investors Takeaway: 3 Things To Do If US-China Trade Talks Go Wrong By DBS Stay Invested In REITs S-REITs managed to put in the second-best performance in 2H18 after healthcare. According to DBS, S-REITs should continue to garner investors’ interest as bond yields are still pressured by the Fed turning more dovish. The Federal Reserve’s previous guidance in December last year pointed to two interest rate hikes in

The Trump effect that had buoyed global markets has ironically turned to take its toll on as tensions with China ratcheted up a notch. Despite the underperformance of the Straits Times Index in 2018, UOBKH’s top picks managed to outperform the broader market last year. Given UOBKH’s good track record, it may pay off to heed UOBKH’s top picks for 2019. Investors Takeaway: 4 Investment Ideas For Alpha In 2019 By UOBKH Recovery Of Thai Beverage According to UOBKH, with the dismal share price performance in 2018, there is a good chance Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) will fare much better this year. Since the start of the year, the stock has already risen over 20 percent to $0.735. With a $0.80 price target, UOBKH sees almost another nine percent potential upside, with limited downside risks.

The strong rebound in January so far, following the worst December since the Great Depression, prompted me to look at historical precedents since the 1950's, where the S&P 500 also had a strong rebound following a monthly loss greater than 8% (the loss in December 2018 was 9.2%). What I found was that all such precedents occurred either during recessions or significant market events. This makes the most recent whipsaw look very strange indeed as there is neither a recession nor any significant market event unless you call the flipping of Powell a market event. Or unless there is something which has yet to reveal itself. I have listed them below in chronological order showing the significant monthly losses before the rebound and the corresponding re-based S&P 500 chart.Kennedy Slide

The last few days of 2018 were a roller coaster ride for investors around the world. The US stock market sunk into correction territory before rebounding with the highest daily gain in US history. DBS foresees uncertainty to continue affecting the market following a climbing wall of worries from trade war to interest rate hike to currency turmoil. For investors, DBS recommends investors to stay defensive with stocks in these four investment themes: Defensive plays with strong earnings visibility Yield play with growth Bombed out value play Trade diversion beneficiaries Investors Takeaway: Defensive Stocks With Strong Earnings Visibility By DBS Yangzijiang Shipbuilding According to DBS, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Yangzijiang) holds a strong order book with a value of US$4 billion as of 3

For the past three years, sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings has been partnering with Google to publish an annual report on Southeast Asia’s digital economy. This year, in their latest report, Google and Temasek continued to revise their growth projections for the future of the region’s digital economy. Based on the report, Southeast Asia’s online economy reached US$72 billion in value this year. By 2025, it is projected to triple to US$240 billion. This is 20 percent higher than what Google and Temasek had estimated in their first report in 2016. 3 Reasons Why SEA Internet Economy Is Booming So, what are the reasons why Southeast Asia’s internet economy is booming? According to the report, there are three key reasons: Southeast Asians Are Mobile-First Consumers The cost of a

The Straits Times Index (STI) is made up of the 30 strongest and most liquid stocks listed in Singapore. Comprising close to 80% of the entire market value in Singapore, the returns that the stocks on the STI provides is essentially the market returns or benchmark returns. For investors who are new or prefer taking a hands-off approach, being able to invest in the STI can be the most practical way to invest. This is primarily because it offers several advantages such as diversifying our investment portfolio with just one investment as well as receiving the market returns without requiring much knowledge or spending time monitoring and adjusting our portfolios. Currently, there are two listed STI exchange traded funds (ETFs) – the SPDR STI ETF and the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF – that w

2018 was a challenging year for Singapore investors. The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), Singapore’s stock market barometer, was down by 9.8% in 2018. Despite the market decline for the year, there are a number of stocks that delivered positive returns in 2018. In this series of articles, I will look back into the year and identify six of the index’s biggest winners, as well as six of the largest losers. In this article, I will be covering the winners from the fourth to sixth position. The sixth best performer In sixth place is Wilmar International Limited (SGX: F34). For those who are new to the company, Wilmar is an agricultural company that operates through four main segments: Tropical Oils, Oilseeds and Grains, Sugar, and Others. In 2018, Wilmar’s shares improved marginally by

The Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI), Singapore’s key stock market barometer, has had a rough 2018, falling 9.1% from the start of this year until the end of November. Apart from being well-known among investors, the STI’s 30 component companies are also known for their dividends. But some blue-chips are offering a higher yield compared to the rest. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the top 10 dividend-paying stocks on the STI (data as of 30 November 2018). For the first five, click on this link. 6. ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited (SGX: C52) has a presence in seven countries and is one of the largest land transport companies in the world. Within the transport sector, ComfortDelGro has businesses in the taxi, bus, rail, car rental, and automotive engineering services. Comfo