Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened flat on Friday. Singapore Airlines up 2.3%; Seatrium up 0.4%; Wilmar down 1.87%; Genting Sing down 1.3%.

Stocks to Watch

Wilmar: It posted on Thursday a 39.4 per cent fall in net profit to US$590.2 million for the six months ended December. Revenue for the half year rose 5.3 per cent to US$36.4 billion on stronger sales volumes. Full-year revenue rose 0.3 per cent to US$67.4 billion and net profit fell 23.3 per cent to US$1.2 billion. The company proposed a final dividend per share of S$0.10, slightly lower than S$0.11 the year before. Wilmar shares ended Thursday at S$3.21, up 0.9 per cent or S$0.03, before the announcement.

Singapore Airlines (SIA): The national carrier’s net profit surged 146.7 per cent to S$1.6 billion for the third quarter ended Dec 31, from S$659 million in the year-ago period. Revenue climbed 2.7 per cent to S$5.2 billion, from S$5.1 billion. The company attributed the boost to a one-off non-cash accounting gain of S$1.1 billion, it said on Thursday. SIA shares closed down 0.2 per cent or S$0.01 at S$6.42 on Thursday, before the business update.

Genting Singapore: The company on Thursday recorded a 34 per cent fall in net profit to S$222 million for the half year ended Dec 31, from S$334.9 million in the corresponding year-ago period. Half-year revenue slid 12 per cent to S$1.2 billion from S$1.3 billion. For the full year, net profit fell 5 per cent to S$578.9 million and revenue rose 5 per cent to S$2.5 billion as earnings per share came in at S$0.0479, from S$0.0507 previously. Shares of Genting Singapore closed flat at S$0.775 on Thursday, before the results were released.

Seatrium: The offshore and marine specialist swung into the black with a net profit of S$120.9 million for the second half ended Dec 31, compared with a net loss of S$1.7 billion in the same period a year earlier. This was attributed to higher contributions from revenue recognition, fair value gain on investments, as well as share of profit from associates, it said on Friday. With the group’s return to profitability, Seatrium proposed a final dividend of S$0.015 per share. Shares of Seatrium closed 2 per cent or S$0.05 lower at S$2.50 on Thursday. 

StarHub: The telco on Friday posted a net profit of S$78.4 million for the second half ended December, up 7.5 per cent from S$72.9 million in the previous corresponding period. The group declared a final dividend of S$0.032 per share, bringing the total dividend to be distributed for the full year ended Dec 31 to S$0.062. Shares of StarHub ended Thursday flat at S$1.26. 

SG Local News

Singapore Pledges $150 Million To Boost Enterprise AI Adoption

Singapore will allocate up to $150 million for a new Enterprise Compute Initiative, enabling eligible businesses to collaborate with major cloud providers for AI tools and computing power, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced in Budget 2025. Those enterprises will also be able to access consultancy services under the initiative.

This initiative complements existing efforts to encourage tech adoption for digital transformation. "All enterprises must invest in technology to enhance their competitiveness and productivity. We will continue to encourage the adoption of off-the-shelf solutions like AI-powered analytics and digital marketing tools [among our enterprises] through initiatives like the Productivity Solutions Grant and the SMEs Go Digital programme," says Wong.