Singapore Market 2024 Recap | Which Dividend Monsters Witness the Biggest Surge?

In the face of global economic uncertainty, the Singapore stock market has demonstrated resilience, with the Straits Times Index (STI) consistently reaching new highs. In such an environment, dividend stocks are attractive for investors seeking stable returns and income.

Most notable on that list must be the three largest banking stocks in Singapore. These three bank stocks have made impressive gains so far this year and also boast decent dividend yields. Let's briefly review the performance of the three major banks.

DBS is the largest of Singapore's three major local banks by market capitalization and an important pillar of the Singapore economy. The bank not only delivered a strong performance in 2024, but also raised its dividend with a view to an even brighter future. in the first nine months of 2024 (9M 2024), total revenue grew 11% year-on-year (y-o-y) to SGD 16.8 billion, with net interest income up 5% y-o-y and non-interest income up 27%.

Surging interest rates drove DBS's net interest income growth, while strong expenses and higher wealth management fees drove non-interest income growth. 9M 2024 net profit was S$8.8 billion, up 12% year-on-year. The bank paid an interim dividend of S$0.54, 22% higher than the S$0.44 paid a year ago.

In addition, Singapore Airlines became the highest dividend-yielding stock on the list. In November 2024, Singapore Airlines achieved strong growth with passenger volumes up 12.1% year-over-year and available seat kilometers increasing by 9.3%. Despite a slight decrease in passenger load factor, the airline's cargo business saw a significant increase in total capacity by 12.8% and cargo volume by 10.3%. These positive trends highlight the airline's strong performance in continuing to expand its influence across global markets. Although strong travel demand is expected in the second half of the fiscal year, Singapore Airlines anticipates "intense competitive pressures" in operations.

Source: SGX, Bloomberg, moomoo, sginvestors.io