Singtel rises on higher earnings, special dividend; all eyes on Yangzijiang Maritime listing

SINGAPORE – Strong half-year earnings and a dividend bump lifted Singtel’s share price more than 5 per cent last week to $4.86 at the Nov 14 close.

The mainboard-listed telecommunications company on Nov 12

reported net underlying profit of $1.35 billion

for the first half ended Sept 30, up 14 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Net underlying profit, from which dividends are paid, excludes one-off and exceptional items.

Singtel plans to pay an interim dividend of 8.2 cents a share, up 17 per cent from the same period in its last financial year.

Net profit for the half-year rose to $3.4 billion from $1.2 billion a year ago, after accounting for one-off gains from a

partial stake sale in Indian associate Bharti Airtel

and the merger of Singtel’s Thai associate Intouch Holdings with Gulf Energy Development.

This comes amid a

serious outage at Singtel’s Australian subsidiary Optus

in September that disrupted emergency services and was linked to three deaths, triggering ongoing investigations.

Singtel chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon said at the briefing that it is premature to speculate if Optus would be fined for the outage, although an independent panel has been convened to find out the cause.

Singtel did not make a provision on Optus after the incident.

For the first half, Optus posted a 27 per cent jump in operating earnings at A$283 million (S$240.2 million), spurred by growth in mobile use.

Singtel lifted the group’s operating profit growth guidance for the year ending March 31, 2026, to between the high single digits and low double digits.

It also lifted its forecast of regional associates’ contribution by $100 million, to $1.1 billion.

In a report dated Nov 14, OCBC Investment Research analysts highlighted the prospect for Singtel’s technology services arm NCS to be an important growth driver as well.

However, they flagged potential challenges to growth of NCS’ margins in the near term, given the cost of recruiting suitable talents.

Analysts also flagged foreign exchange risks after a strengthening Singapore dollar contributed to a downtick in revenue by 1.2 per cent from the same period in 2024, to $6.9 billion.

SIA slumps on Air India exposure

Shares for Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group dipped as low as $6.41 on Nov 14, down 3.6 per cent from the previous day’s close, before paring losses to close at $6.52.

This comes after first-half results released after trading hours on Nov 13 showed net profit falling 67.8 per cent year on year to $239 million, dragged down by lower interest income and SIA’s share of associate Air India’s losses.

SIA began accounting for Air India’s financial performance from December 2024. However, the Indian airline has been struggling with widening losses after a

plane crash that killed 241 people on board

in June 2025, and is also reportedly seeking financial aid from SIA.

Still, the group unveiled plans to

pay its shareholders a special dividend

of 10 cents a share each year over the next three financial years.

This will amount to about $900 million over the period, reflecting the group’s strong financial position, it said.

The first interim special dividend of three cents a share will be paid on Dec 23 to shareholders as at Dec 8.

In a Nov 14 report, OCBC Investment Research analyst Ada Lim reduced the fair value estimate for the counter from $7.10 a share to $6.40 a share.

“We think that SIA is nearing the end of the runway for exceptionalism, given that passenger yields have peaked and are on a moderating trajectory amidst intensifying competition, especially in the region,” Ms Lim said.

Nonetheless, she said SIA continues to hold long-term value in investors’ portfolios, with its strong brand, service quality and product innovation allowing it to navigate the volatility and transition from recovery to growth going forward.

ST Engineering gained more than 2.7 per cent over the week to close at $8.49 on Nov 14 despite announcing a $667 million impairment for its iDirect satellite communications (satcom) business.

The write-down of assets in this business will save around $50 million in depreciation and amortisation, said Ms Lorraine Tan of Morningstar in a Nov 13 note.

This should be reflected in improving operating profit at its urban solutions and satcom segment from 2026, she added.

However, Ms Tan noted that the proposed total dividend per share of 23 cents for the 2025 financial year implies a 2.8 per cent dividend yield, based on an $8.10 fair value estimate.

“Following its share price rise this year, ST Engineering no longer trades at its historical dividend yield range of 4 per cent to 5 per cent,” she added.

Yangzijiang Financial halves after maritime spin-off

Shares of Yangzijiang Financial plummeted from $1.06 at the start of the week to 51.5 cents at the Nov 14 close, down more than 50 per cent after the cut-off passed for purchasers to receive a one-for-one in-specie distribution of Yangzijiang Maritime shares.

Nearly 136 million shares changed hands over the week.

This followed a Sept 4 extraordinary general meeting, where shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of hiving off Yangzijiang Financial’s maritime fund and investments business into Yangzijiang Maritime, a new group to be separately listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

After its listing on Nov 18, Yangzijiang Maritime is expected to have a market capitalisation of around $2.04 billion, while Yangzijiang Financial’s issued and paid-up capital will shrink by about $2 billion.

The move decouples the maritime fund and investments from the rest of Yangzijiang Financial’s investment management business, comprising mostly debt and real estate investments in China now facing a major slump.

Other market movers

There was some action on the small- and mid-cap front, with shipbuilder Nam Cheong closing the week at 83 cents, up more than 15 per cent through the week.

The Malaysia-based shipbuilder on Nov 14 reported earnings of RM45.8 million (S$14.4 million) for the third quarter ended Sept 30, down 3 per cent year on year on the back of a 15 per cent dip in revenue to RM170.8 million over the same period.

Still, Nam Cheong said demand for the offshore support vessels that it builds should stay buoyant as constraints to supply mount. New vessel construction is expected to be subdued owing to limited bank financing, while Malaysia’s policies limit foreign participation.

Meanwhile, UOB Kay Hian analysts John Cheong and Heidi Mo raised the target price for electronics manufacturing services provider Valuetronics from 83 cents to $1.03 and maintained a “buy” call on the counter, which they believe is “deeply undervalued”.

“This reflects improving earnings visibility and a stronger growth trajectory driven by increased contributions from new customers and a positive shift to higher-margin products,” they said.

Hong Kong-headquartered Valuetronics saw its shares gain more than 4 per cent over the week to close at 87 cents a share, after it announced on Nov 13 that its first-half net profit reached HK$93 million (S$15.5 million).

Speaking of Hong Kong,

three new Singapore depository receipts (SDRs) of Hong Kong-listed tickers

were listed on Nov 12: Laopu Gold, Trip.com and Baidu.

SDRs are not actual shares but a type of investment product that represents an interest in a stock or security that is listed on an overseas exchange.

They can be bought and sold in the same way as Singapore shares through existing brokers during local trading hours, and are priced in Singapore dollars with a smaller minimum trading size.

There are now 29 SDRs on the SGX: 10 of Thai-listed firms, 16 of Hong Kong-listed counters, and three of companies listed in Indonesia.

SGX Group said SDR turnover hit a record $16 million daily in September, up more than 30 times year on year, and fuelled by sustained growth since the launch of Hong Kong SDRs in October 2024.

SDR assets under management crossed $220 million in October, driven by strong retail inflows, it added.

What to look out for this week

Yangzijiang Maritime is set to list on Nov 18.

While the hiving off has been welcomed by analysts, it remains to be seen how the market will react – and whether the value unlocked is reflected in share prices.