The time has yet again arrived for the second earnings season of 2025. Many investors are lining up, ready to delve deeper into the upcoming financial reports as companies are set to reveal the extent to which they have been affected by Trump’s comprehensive tariffs. Despite these potential challenges, we remain bullish that quality, tried-and-trusted blue-chip stocks can sustain their strong performance given their established history of resilience across various economic landscapes.
Out of several potential contenders, we give the spotlight to three distinguished blue-chip enterprises—Singtel, DBS Group, and SATS Ltd. They each demonstrate promising prospects for yielding improved profits and increased dividend payouts. Singtel, distinguished as Singapore’s premier telecommunication company by market size, offers a broad selection of mobile, broadband, and cable TV services.
In the first three quarters (9M) of the fiscal year 2025, ending on 31st December 2024, Singtel submitted an impressive financial report. The overall operating revenue witnessed a modest increase of 0.7% year-on-year, totaling S$10.6 billion. This uptrend was largely derived from the company’s mobile service revenue expansion in Singapore and Australia.
In addition to mobile revenue, Singtel saw growth stemming from its NCS division, particularly via the Gov+ sector. Nevertheless, these gains were slightly offset by a decrease in revenue from satellite project-based deployments. Despite this smaller downside, Singtel saw an uplifting 12.8% year-on-year rise in its operating profit, reaching the figure of S$1.1 billion, and a significant 11.3% increase of net profit to the tune of S$1.9 billion.
This surge in profitability is largely attributed to higher yield from Airtel and AIS. Singtel, buoyed by these numbers, has updated its forecast for FY2025, anticipating a high-teen to low-20% year-on-year increase in operating profit, a considerable leap from its initial prediction of ‘low double digits’.
The company also foresees the dividends from regional associations summing up to S$1.3 billion, a sizeable jump from the original estimate of S$1.1 billion. Singtel plans on disbursing dividends rounding up to approximately S$0.165 for FY2025, which, if accomplished, would surpass FY2024’s dividends of S$0.15.
In an effort to stimulate business performance, Singtel has initiated its ST28 growth strategy. As part of this strategy, Singtel intends to adopt smart capital management and has recognized an additional cache of close to S$6 billion in assets that can be capitalized upon. The company is scheduled to publish its full FY2025 earnings on the morning of May 22.
DBS Group, Singapore’s premier bank as per market cap, exhibits a diverse range of banking, insurance, and investment services catered to individuals and businesses alike. The bank presented an outstanding financial performance for the year 2024, with a notable 11% year-on-year increase in net profit which hit a fresh record of S$11.4 billion.
As part of its growing success, DBS proposed a final dividend of S$0.60 and is all set to introduce a new capital return dividend (CRD) for 2025. The planned CRD stands at S$0.15 per share per quarter for 2025, bringing the total quarterly dividend to S$0.75. The bank anticipates non-interest income growth to be maintained in the high-single-digits percentage year-on-year.
DBS Group might see its net profit take flight, attributable to encouraging wealth management inflows potentially generating increased fee income. The bank is set to disclose its first quarter of 2025 financial outcomes before the start of the market day on May 8, 2025.
SATS Ltd is a key player in providing air cargo handling services and firmly holds its place as a leading airline caterer. Its report of financial performance showcased a robust increase in the earnings for 9M FY2025, with revenue marking a 14% year-on-year surge to hit S$4.3 billion.
Operating profit for SATS Ltd more than doubled from the previous year, amassing to S$367.4 million, and the net profit dramatically rose to S$205.1 million, a giant leap from the previous year’s S$23.7 million. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) anticipates an 8% increase in global passenger traffic for 2025, which bodes well for SATS’ potential to sustain its robust revenue and earnings progression.
In the past fiscal year, SATS rewarded its stakeholders with a final dividend of S$0.015. Given the expectation of continued growth, the company demonstrates a strong capability to exceed last year’s dividend payout for FY2025. SATS annual earnings for FY2025 will be released following the market closure on May 23, 2025.
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