Yahoo Finance 4 Singapore Stocks to Watch for in May
2024 is passing by quickly and in a flash, May is almost upon us.
Many companies are releasing their latest first-quarter results or business updates.
Investors should skim through these results to identify interesting stocks that you may wish to park your money in.
Remember to focus on both the risks and rewards for each business so that you can make an informed investment decision.
We feature four Singapore stocks that you can place on your watchlist for May.
iFAST Corporation Limited (SGX: AIY)
iFAST is a financial technology company with a platform for the buying and selling of unit trusts, equities, and bonds.
The group released a sparkling set of earnings for the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024) as it slowly ramps up the revenue recognition from its Hong Kong ePension division.
Total revenue for the quarter surged by 59.4% year on year to S$86 million while operating profit leapt fourfold year on year to S$18.5 million.
iFAST’s net profit shot up 334% year on year to S$18.1 million.
The fintech attributed the better performance to contributions from its ePension division along with improvements in its core wealth management business.
In line with the strong results, the group declared an interim dividend of S$0.013, 30% higher than the S$0.01 paid out last year.
iFAST’s assets under administration (AUA) also increased to a new record of S$21.05 billion as of 31 March 2024.
Management expects to see robust growth rates this year in both revenue and profitability as the ePension division becomes an important growth driver for the group in 2024 and 2025.
Its digital bank division under iFAST Global Bank is also projected to become an important contributor to growth in 2025 and beyond.
Aztech Global (SGX: 8AZ)
Aztech Global is an electronics design, engineering, and manufacturing solutions provider with four research and development (R&D) centres in Singapore, Hong Kong, and China along with three manufacturing facilities in China and Malaysia.
For 1Q 2024, revenue declined by 20% year on year to S$128.6 million due to rescheduling of customers’ orders and the negative impact of heavy snowstorms in China.
However, a net exchange gain and a write-back of provision for trade receivables saw net profit jump 18.7% year on year to S$15.9 million.
Despite the weaker top-line performance, Aztech Global continued to generate a robust free cash flow of S$49.6 million for the quarter.
The electronics solutions provider reported a strong net cash position of S$302 million as of 31 March 2024.
As of 23 April 2024, the group had an order book of S$456 million and secured new customers for products such as sound and light IoT (Internet of Things) and visual IoT.
Looking ahead, management plans to grow its IoT and electronics manufacturing service business by strengthening its manufacturing capabilities and employing innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence.
OUE REIT (SGX: TS0U)
OUE REIT owns six assets in Singapore and one in Shanghai with total assets under management of S$6.3 billion as of 31 December 2023.
These assets comprise 1,655 upscale hotel rooms along with 2.2 million square feet of prime office and retail space.
The commercial and hospitality REIT reported an encouraging business update for 1Q 2024 with revenue rising 9.5% year on year to S$74.9 million.
The better revenue was driven by higher contributions from Hilton Singapore Orchard along with resilient income flowing from the REIT’s Singapore commercial properties.
Net property income (NPI) improved by 6.9% year on year to S$60.5 million.
The Singapore office portfolio boasted a high occupancy rate of 95.1% and enjoyed positive rental reversion of 12.6% for 1Q 2024.
Mandarin Gallery, the retail portion of the Hilton Singapore Orchard, saw committed occupancy at 96.6% with positive rental reversion of 22%.
Its Shanghai asset Lippo Plaza, however, saw committed office occupancy dip to 75.5% from 83.3% in the previous quarter.
The REIT’s hospitality segment performed well, with revenue and NPI climbing by 22.7% and 15.9%, respectively, to S$26.9 million and S$23.8 million.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the division also jumped 23.3% year on year to S$280 for 1Q 2024, exceeding the pre-pandemic RevPAR of S$209.
AEM Holdings (SGX: AWX)
AEM provides comprehensive semiconductor test and electronics test solutions for its clients.
The group has R&D centres in Singapore, Malaysia, Finland, France and the US along with manufacturing plants in various parts of the world.
Earlier this month, AEM announced that its next-generation automated burn-in test system was selected as a Plan-of-Record solution by a major fabless provider of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor chips.
Delivery will commence this year with further deliveries expected in the coming years.
Just last week, AEM announced the expanded adoption of its active thermal control solutions for upcoming AI devices with high power thermal demands.
This engine, which is tailored for high-volume manufacturing, is designed for the evolving needs of the customer’s new device roadmap.
The selection of the group shows that AEM is well-equipped to deliver highly differentiated and cost-effective solutions that fit the stringent requirements of its customers.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of iFAST Corporation Limited.
The post 4 Singapore Stocks to Watch for in May appeared first on The Smart Investor.
