Dividends are a great source of passive income for investors.
The good news is that many companies dish out regular dividends to their shareholders after reporting their earnings.
However, there’s something even more attractive than receiving half-yearly or quarterly dividends.
I am talking about stocks that pay out special dividends.
These special dividends act as a bonanza on top of receiving your regular dividends.
Here are four stocks that recently declared special dividends that you may wish to add to your buy watchlist.
PropNex is an integrated real estate agency and is Singapore’s largest with 13,057 salespeople as of 19 February 2025.
The group also has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Australia.
PropNex reported a downbeat set of earnings for 2024 with revenue falling by 6.6% year on year to S$783 million.
Net profit stood at S$40.9 million, down 14.4% year on year.
However, the business generated a positive free cash flow of S$37.7 million for 2024, although this was lower than 2023’s S$57.6 million.
The group declared a final dividend of S$0.03, taking its total ordinary dividend to S$0.0525, slightly lower than the previous year’s S$0.06.
In addition, the property group declared a special dividend of S$0.025 to commemorate its 25th anniversary.
Management expects a 3% to 4% rise in overall private home prices this year with an estimated 13,000 new units to be launched, nearly double the supply last year.
The HDB resale market should also see price growth of 5% to 7% with volumes reaching 29,000 to 30,00 units, providing ample opportunities for PropNex to garner a higher level of business.
United Overseas Bank, or UOB, is Singapore’s third largest bank by market capitalisation.
The lender provides a comprehensive range of banking, insurance, brokerage, and investment services for individuals and corporations.
Shares of UOB have soared 35.8% in the past year amid a high-interest-rate environment.
The blue-chip bank reported a strong set of earnings for 2024 with total income rising 3% year on year to S$14.3 billion.
Net profit came in at S$6 billion, up 6% year on year and at a record high.
UOB upped its final ordinary dividend to S$0.92 from S$0.85 last year, taking its 2024 total dividend to S$1.80.
In addition, the bank also announced a S$3 billion package to return excess capital to shareholders.
This package comprised a special dividend of S$0.50 (to be paid out in two tranches through 2025) and a new S$2 billion share buyback programme.
UOB delivered an optimistic outlook for 2025, projecting high single-digit loan growth along with double-digit fee income growth.
Haw Par is a conglomerate with four distinct divisions – healthcare (under its Tiger Balm brand), leisure, property, and investments.
The group reported a respectable set of earnings for 2024 with revenue rising 5.5% year on year to S$244.8 million.
Net profit increased by 5.4% year on year to S$228.3 million.
Free cash flow for the year fell by 8.4% year on year to S$50.3 million.
However, the business received a higher level of dividend income of S$149.1 million for 2024 compared with S$136.2 million a year ago.
Haw Par proposed an ordinary dividend of S$0.20, unchanged from 2023.
The group also proposed a special dividend of S$1, taking the full year 2024 dividend to S$1.40.
Management warned, however, that ongoing inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions could negatively impact operating margins.
Tariffs imposed by the US government could pose an additional risk.
Riverstone manufactures nitrile and natural rubber clean room gloves for the semiconductor industry and premium nitrile gloves for the healthcare industry.
The group operates six manufacturing facilities in Malaysia (4), Thailand (1) and China (1) with an annual production capacity of 10.5 billion gloves.
For 2024, Riverstone’s revenue rose 17.3% year on year to RM 1.1 billion while gross profit climbed 32% year on year to RM 390.1 million.
Gross margin improved from 32.3% to 36.4%.
Net profit improved by 30.2% year on year to RM 286.9 million.
The business also churned out a positive free cash flow of RM 227.2 million, up 15.1% year on year.
In line with the good results, Riverstone declared a final dividend of RM 0.08 and a special dividend of RM 0.04, taking the total 2024 dividend to RM 0.24.
CEO Wong Teek Son mentioned that the group acquired new clients in the cleanroom business, which should bring in additional revenue streams upon completion of the qualification process.
In addition, the business replaced old production lines with newer, more efficient ones that can support smaller batch volumes with greater customisation.
Such a move will help to shift the group’s product mix to more speciality solutions that command higher profitability.
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