3 best-performing Singapore blue-chip stocks in 2024

What happened?

The Straits Times Index has been on a tear this year and has chalked up a 18% year-to-date gain as of 3 December.

The bellwether blue-chip index also hit a 17-year high and is at levels not seen since 2007, right before the Global Financial Crisis hit.

As I’ve been tracking this rally, it’s been fascinating to see so many blue-chip stocks hitting either their 52-week or all-time highs. 

Earlier, I shared about 3 Singapore blue-chip stocks hitting new 52-week highs.

With optimism still in the air, I wanted to dive deeper into the action. So, I took a closer look at the three best-performing Singapore blue-chip stocks to explore whether they have what it takes to keep the momentum going into 2025. 

Let’s break it down!

The 3 best-performing Singapore blue-chip stocks in 2024

Here are 3 best-performing blue-chip stocks as of 13 December 2024.

#1 – Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (SGX: BS6)

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is one of the largest non-state-owned shipbuilding companies in China with four shipyards located in Jiangsu province of China.

The company can produce a broad range of commercial vessels including large containerships, bulk carriers, and LNG carriers.

Shares of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding have surged by nearly 87% year-to-date, making the shipbuilding company the best blue-chip performer among the 30 stocks within the index.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding reported an impressive set of financial results for the first half of 2024.

Revenue climbed 15.3% year on year to RMB 13 billion while gross profit surged 65.1% year on year to RMB 3.5 billion.

Gross margin shot up 8.1 percentage points from 18.6% to 26.7%.

Net profit stood at RMB 3.1 billion, leaping by 77.2% year on year.

For its third quarter of 2024 (3Q 2024) business update, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding saw its order book hit a new record of US$22.14 billion as of 7 November 2024.

Order wins also exceeded the company’s target by nearly three times, coming in at US$11.64 billion versus its goal of US$4.5 billion.

In early December, the shipbuilder announced that it had secured another US$2.63 billion in new contracts for the delivery of 21 vessels.

These contracts are scheduled for deliveries between 2027 and 2029 and so will have no financial impact on this year’s results.

Including these new contracts, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding would have secured a total of 119 contracts year-to-date with a total value of US$14.27 billion, more than triple its initial target.

There is potential for Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to continue growing its order book as demand for oil tankers and gas carriers will fuel new-build orders.

The slide below shows the compound annual growth rates (CAGR) for different vessel types along with their catalysts.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding share price history and share price target
• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding dividend history and dividend forecast

#2 – DBS Group (SGX: D05)

DBS is Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation and offers a comprehensive range of banking, insurance, and investment services.

The lender saw its share price leap 44.6% year-to-date to S$43.74 and ranks second when it comes to the best-performing blue-chips.

DBS announced a record-breaking set of earnings for the first nine months of 2024 (9M 2024).

Its net interest income improved by 5% year on year to S$11.2 billion even though its net interest margin fell from 2.16% a year ago to 2.13%.

DBS’s fee and commission income climbed 27% year on year to S$3.2 billion.

The bank’s total income increased by 11% year on year to S$16.8 billion while its net profit touched S$8.8 billion and was up 12% year on year.

Return on equity (ROE) stood high at 18.8% for 9M 2024 and asset quality stayed resilient as the non-performing loans ratio came in at 1%.

DBS continued to raise its quarterly dividend, upping it by nearly 23% year on year from S$0.44 to S$0.54.

With this increase, DBS’s annualised dividend per share stands at S$2.16.

Meanwhile, the board also established a new S$3 billion share buyback programme where shares will be purchased in the open market and cancelled.

The programme is designed to provide a permanent lift to earnings per share while improving the bank’s ROE.

CEO Piyush Gupta was sanguine for 2025 and estimates that group net interest income will remain around 2024 levels.

Non-interest income, however, should grow by high-single-digits year on year.

However, net profit is expected to be lower than 2024 levels because of the implementation of a global minimum tax of 15%.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of DBS Group with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• DBS Group share price history and share price target
• DBS Group dividend history and divdiend forecasts

#3 – SATS Ltd (SGX: S58)

SATS is a provider of air cargo handling services and is also Asia’s leading airline caterer.

After the acquisition of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in 2023, SATS’ network now operates in 215 stations in 27 countries, covering trade routes responsible for more than half of the world’s air cargo volume.

SATS share price leapt 33.5% year-to-date, putting it firmly in third place for best-performing blue-chip stocks.

The ground handler reported a sparkling set of earnings for the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 30 September 2024.

Revenue rose 14.8% year on year to S$2.8 billion while operating profit more than tripled year on year from S$72 million to S$240.1 million.

Net profit stood at S$134.7 million, a sharp reversal from the net loss of S$7.8 million reported in 1H FY2024.

The business also generated a positive free cash flow of S$113.2 million for 1H FY2025, reversing the free cash outflow of S$20.7 million in the prior year.

An interim dividend of S$0.015 was declared and paid.

Looking ahead, management sees four sustainable tailwinds that can help to grow its business further.

SATS has an unrivalled network that can leverage robust global air cargo growth.

With its Singapore core, its hub here can act as a connector of trade flows around the world.

Meanwhile, global customers are increasingly seeking network-wide solutions and management sees strong recovery and growth in Asia-Pacific’s passenger volumes, heralding a new era of post-pandemic growth.

Last month, the airline caterer presented its flight plan during its Capital Markets Day on how to grow the business and deliver sustainable value by FY2029.

The slide above shows three key objectives – to attain revenue of S$8 billion, an ROE of 15% and more, and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margin of 20% or higher.

SATS will continue to pursue its “3R” initiatives of repaying loans, reinvesting in capital expenditure, and rewarding shareholders with dividends.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of SATS with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• SATS Ltd share price history and share price target
• SATS Ltd dividend history and dividend forecasts

What would Beansprout do?

The three stocks mentioned have done well this year, supported by improving business fundamentals. 

However, given the significant rally in the 3 names, there appears to be limited potential further upside to their share prices based on analyst forecasts. 

Based on consensus forecasts as of 13 December, analysts expect a slight potential upside of 3% for DBS to the share price target of S$45.12. 

However, analysts expect potential downside of 14% to the share price target of Yangzijiang, and 9% downside to the share price target of SATS.

For investors looking at these stocks to generate a dividend income, DBS offers the most attractive dividend yield of 4.9%, close to its historical average.

However, Yangzijiang offers a dividend yield of 2.4%, below its historical average of 6.5%, and SATS offers a dividend yield of 0.8%, having just resumed its dividend payments. 

Across the three names, DBS appears the most attractive based on potential upside to consensus share price target and dividend yield. 

For investors looking at the most potential upside to consensus share price targets, City Developments, Genting Singapore and CapitaLand Investment are blue chip stocks that offer the highest potential upside to consensus share price targets and a dividend yield of above 3.0%. 

You can check out our screener of dividend-paying stocks that have the highest potential upside to consensus share price target here. 

Related links:

• Yangzijiang Shipbuilding share price history and share price target
• DBS Group share price history and share price target
• SATS Ltd share price history and share price target

Join our Beansprout Telegram group for the latest insights on Singapore stocks, REITs, bonds and ETFs.