Upbeat outlook for CDL, UOL after strong H1 earnings, but analysts turn cautious on PropNex, Apac Realty

UOL&rsquo s redevelopment in the Marina Square area is expected to add 702 residential units to its pipeline. Permission from URA is expected in Q3. PHOTO: BT FILE

The following are top SGX-listed companies renowned for generating robust free cash flows (FCF) and maintaining strong balance sheets:
​ 1. Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX: S68)

• The Business: The sole approved financial exchange operator in Singapore.
• FCF & Financials: FCF nearly doubled from S$392.4 million in FY2023 to S$773.6 million by FY2025, buoyed by its resilient fee structures and lack of capital-intensive overhead.

 

2. Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX: OV8)

• The Business: One of Singapore' s largest supermarket chains with over 90 outlets.
• FCF & Financials: Continues to punch above its weight by generating S$215.8 million in FCF. The company maintains a " war chest" of cash with zero bank debt, enabling consistent dividend payouts.

 

3. UOL Group Limited (SGX: U14)

• The Business: A leading real estate developer and hospitality investor.
• FCF & Financials: Has seen its FCF surge to around S$1.2 billion, representing a robust 86% conversion rate from its operating income, allowing the company to aggressively pay down debt and multiply dividends.

 

4. HRnetGroup Limited (SGX: CHZ)

• The Business: A premier recruitment and staffing specialist operating across Asia.
• FCF & Financials: Maintains a completely debt-free balance sheet with over S$260 million in cash reserves. It consistently converts net income into FCF, supporting a trailing dividend yield of over 5.8%. 

 

5. Venture Corporation Limited (SGX: V03)

• The Business: A global provider of technology solutions and electronics manufacturing services.
• FCF & Financials: Backed by an exceptionally liquid balance sheet featuring over S$1.28 billion in net cash, providing a resilient cushion for its annual dividend distributions

UOL&rsquo s H2 net profit rises 21% while CDL&rsquo s was up over four times at S$538.5 million

[SINGAPORE] The counters of property players   UOL   : U14 +5.62% and   City Developments Ltd (CDL)   : C09 +4.91% saw some positive movement at market open, on the back of their financial results announced on Thursday (Feb 26) and Friday.

 

Shares of UOL rose 6.3 per cent or S$0.67 to S$11.35 while CDL was up 4.4 per cent or S$0.41 at S$9.77.

 

UOL posted a 21 per cent rise in net profit to S$276.2 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2025, from S$227.8 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.

 

 

Through strong recurring income from its residential segment &ldquo very high&rdquo positive reversion for its commercial assets, especially in Singapore and a stronger hospitality portfolio, UOL recorded revenue of S$1.7 billion in H2, 11 per cent higher than S$1.5 billion in the year-ago period.

 

Earnings per share (EPS) for H2 FY2025 stood at S$0.3268, compared with S$0.2696 for the same period a year earlier.

 

As for CDL, its second-half earnings rose over four times or 374.3 per cent to S$538.5 million, from S$113.5 million in the previous corresponding period.

 

This translates to EPS of S$0.598, against an EPS of S$0.121 in the year-ago period.

 

CDL said that all its business segments reported improvements for the six months ended December, and its revenue for H2 stood at S$1.9 billion, up 11.1 per cent on the year from S$1.7 billion.

UOL Group reported a 34% increase in FY2025 earnings to $481.7 million, driven by strong property development and investments. The company plans to pay a special dividend of 7 cents per share, in addition to a final dividend of 18 cents.

 

UOL Group has sold its hotel in Tianjin for RMB238 million, or around $43.4 million.

 

The sale, via its unit, Tianjin UOL Xiwang Real Estate Development, was made to one Jiang Yang.

 

The hotel, with 319 rooms, is at No. 1 Zhang Zi Zhong Road in the northern Chinese city.

 

UOL opened this property back in 2014.

 

Jiang has paid a deposit of RMB23.8 million and will pay the balance on or about April 1.

SINGAPORE &ndash Property stocks were among the gainers on the Straits Times Index (STI) last week.

 

UOL&rsquo s shares rose 7.7 per cent over the period, after a consortium comprising the company, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) and CapitaLand Development (CLD) won a $1.5 billion tender for the Hougang Central integrated residential and commercial site.

 

The stock closed on Jan 16 at $10.07, from the previous week&rsquo s close of $9.35.

 

CICT on Jan 14 said the move is a significant milestone as it reinforces the trust&rsquo s foothold in its core market of Singapore, while expanding its retail footprint into the north-east region.

 

Under the joint development, CICT will develop and own 100 per cent of the commercial component, while CLD and UOL, in a 50-50 joint venture, will develop the residential component for sale.

 

CICT, which is also an STI component stock, announced on Jan 14 that it is divesting Bukit Panjang Plaza for $428 million in cash.

 

The move is part of CICT&rsquo s broader portfolio reconstitution strategy, under which asset divestments may be considered to enable capital redeployment into potential growth opportunities, or other strategic purposes.

 

City Developments Limited (CDL) shares climbed 3.3 per cent last week as the developer announced previews for Newport Residences, a 246-unit freehold luxury project in Anson Road.

 

CDL group chief executive Sherman Kwek said the timing is ideal to introduce the rare freehold offering, citing strong and resilient demand for recent new launches in prime areas.

 

DBS Group Research analyst Tabitha Foo maintains a &ldquo buy&rdquo rating and $11.80 target price for CDL, seeing potential for further gains and viewing the stock as undervalued compared with peers. &ldquo We see CDL as a near-term tactical play with room for valuation catch-up,&rdquo she stated in her Jan 15 note.

 

The stock ended the week at $9.16 on Jan 16, from the previous week&rsquo s close of $8.87.

 

Meanwhile, a multi-week rally in Singapore&rsquo s banking stocks pushed the sector to fresh record highs, with DBS Bank climbing past $59 and OCBC Bank reaching as high as $20.54.

 

Shares of DBS rose 2.6 per cent last week to a record closing price of $59.12, while OCBC stock closed up 3.2 per cent to $20.44. UOB gained nearly 2 per cent to $36.74, below its all-time closing high of $38.67.

 

Analysts are split on the banks&rsquo outlook. Some say stable earnings and higher dividend hopes could keep the banks buoyant, while others said headroom for further valuation expansion may be limited.

 

Gold jumps, then retreats

Spot gold prices edged lower after hitting record highs earlier last week, as stronger United States economic data lifted the dollar and reduced demand for safe-haven assets.

 

Spot gold reached more than US$4,640 per ounce in the week before paring gains to close at approximately US$4,596 an ounce on Jan 16.

 

The precious metal has surged more than 60 per cent over the past year as investors sought shelter amid geopolitical tensions, attacks on the Federal Reserve and the prospect of more US interest rate cuts.

 

Earlier in the month, HSBC said gold prices could rise to around US$5,000 per ounce in the first half of 2026, although volatility is expected to stay high and pullbacks may occur more often.

 

Singapore-listed gold mining company CNMC Goldmine Holdings closed 13.7 per cent higher at $1.16, from the previous week&rsquo s close of $1.02.

 

SPDR Gold Shares, the world&rsquo s largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold, ended the week at US$421.29 from the previous week&rsquo s closing price of US$414.47.

 

Seatrium customer wins ruling, Coliwoo up on bullish calls

Seatrium shares gained 1.8 per cent to close the week at $2.24 as its customer Equinor received the green light from US judge Carl Nichols to resume work on the Empire Wind project, which involves a vessel built by Seatrium.

 

The court ruling provides a lift to rig builders amid a wave of US actions to halt offshore wind projects, which US President Donald Trump has criticised as unprofitable and damaging to the landscape as he pushes for greater use of fossil fuels.

 

Judge Nichols pushed back, warning that Equinor&rsquo s Empire Wind project would suffer &ldquo irreparable harm&rdquo from further delays while its legal fight over the US government&rsquo s stop-work order plays out in court.

 

Meanwhile, shares of Coliwoo rose 5.3 per cent to 59.5 cents after analysts initiated coverage on the co-living operator, citing tailwinds such as a growing number of international students and expatriates, as well as high home ownership costs for foreigners.

 

RHB analyst Vijay Natarajan noted that co-living is a niche and fast-growing segment in Singapore, driven by structural shifts such as the rising popularity of community living and hybrid work. RHB assigned Coliwoo a &ldquo buy&rdquo rating with a target price of 82 cents on Jan 15, representing a 41 per cent upside from its closing price of 58 cents on Jan 14.

 

CGS International initiated with an &ldquo add&rdquo rating and a price target of 74 cents on Jan 14, underpinned by strong earnings visibility and growth prospects.

 

Analysts Tan Jie Hui and Lim Siew Khee noted that Coliwoo captures Singapore&rsquo s undersupply of affordable central rentals for non-residents, though downside risks include softer occupancy and rental rates.

 

The Assembly Place, Toku set to list

Coliwoo&rsquo s peer The Assembly Place is seeking to raise $18.3 million through a Catalist initial public offering (IPO).

 

The offer &ndash opening from Jan 15 and closing on Jan 21 &ndash of 50.3 million shares at 23 cents a share comprises 48.3 million placement shares and two million public offer shares.

 

Cornerstone investors, including Apricot Capital and Maybank Securities, will subscribe for around 29.5 million shares on behalf of certain high-net-worth clients.

 

The Assembly Place said it would use net proceeds of around $9.7 million to expand its portfolio and pursue investment opportunities, and another $1 million would be channelled to its working capital.

 

The firm would also focus on enhancing its digital technologies, developed in-house, to improve its services and efficiency.

 

Cloud communications and customer experience platform Toku announced on Jan 14 that it plans to raise $16.25 million through an IPO, offering 65 million shares at 25 cents each.

 

The offer opened on Jan  14 and runs until noon on Jan 20.

 

Toku provides enterprise customers with a platform to seamlessly orchestrate all conversations across voice, chat, e-mail and other digital channels, while navigating complex regulatory, linguistic and infrastructure requirements.

 

Toku&rsquo s non-independent non-executive chairman Lim Hwee Hua said: &ldquo With data sovereignty and responsible AI (artificial intelligence) becoming strategic priorities across both public and private sectors, Toku is well-positioned to meet the region&rsquo s growing demand for trusted, compliant citizen and customer engagement.&rdquo

 

Other market movers

Shares of Lum Chang Holdings rose 20 per cent over the week to 63 cents after the construction firm on Jan 15 guided for an improved net profit for the six months ended Dec 31.

 

The expected improvement is largely attributable to stronger operating performance of the group&rsquo s restoration and interior fit-out business.

 

Construction and property developer Low Keng Huat (LKH) jumped 7.5 per cent to close at 78.5 cents on Jan 16.

 

Consistent Record, a special purpose vehicle controlled by LKH managing director Marco Low and his family, raised its voluntary conditional offer to take the property developer private to 78 cents a share, up from 72 cents previously.

 

Sembcorp Industries shares closed 2.2 per cent higher over the week to $6.12, from Jan 9&rsquo s close of $5.99.

 

Sembcorp Industries said in a Jan 15 exchange filing that it will seek shareholder approval for its proposed acquisition of Alinta Energy.

 

An extraordinary general meeting has been scheduled for Jan 30 to vote on the purchase of Australia&rsquo s fourth-largest utilities provider from Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.

 

What to look out for this week

Shares of Toku are set to list on the Catalist board on Jan 22, while The Assembly Place is expected to begin trading on Jan 23.

 

Singapore&rsquo s December consumer price index release on Jan 23 will be under the spotlight, with attention on both headline and core inflation trends.

 

News relating to the upcoming Singapore Budget 2026 statement on Feb 12 will be in focus, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to announce a date for its January monetary policy statement, which should be no later than Jan 30, according to UOB.

 

Attention will also be on Mr Trump&rsquo s appearance at Davos 2026, with markets listening closely for signals on trade, tariffs, foreign policy and global economic priorities that could shape investor sentiment.

 

 

A consortium comprising UOL Group has been awarded the tender for the integrated residential and commercial site at Hougang at a tender price of $1.5 billion.

 

The consortium, which includes the company&rsquo s JV company Horizon Residential (Residential SPV), and a wholly-owned sub-trust of CICT, submitted the bid last Dec.

 

The site is a leasehold of 99 years, with a land area of 46,899.4 square metres. It is a mixed use development comprising a residential and commercial development integrated with an MRT station, a bus interchange and town plaza.

 

Residential SPV is a 50-50 JV company between Secure Venture Development and CL Emerald, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Group. Secure Venture Development is a 20-60-20 JV company between Singland Residential Develoipment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, and UOL Venture Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UOL Group, and Kheng Leong Company (Private) Limited.

 

The effective shareholding proportion in Residential SPV is SingLand at 10%, UOL at 30%, KLC at 10% and CapitaLand Development at 50%. Residential SPV will develop at its own cost the residential component of the site for sale, while CICT Sub-Trust will develop at its own cost and retain full ownership of the commercial component of the site.

 

The award of this tender marks a significant milestone for CICT as it reinforces its foothold in its core market of Singapore, while expanding its retail footprint into Singapore&rsquo s northeast region, the group notes. CICT adds that the project draws on CapitaLand Group&rsquo s established expertise in delivering large-scale integrated mixed-use developments, supported by CapitaLand Investment&rsquo s " best-in-class" commercial management capabilities that have consistently driven strong operational performance.

 

The acquisition and development of the site will be financed principally from bank borrowings and proportionate shareholders&rsquo loans.

 

The consortium has paid or caused to be paid a tender deposit of about 5% of the tender price to HDB. A sum equivalent to 25% of the tender price will be paid within 28 days of the award of the tender, and the balance is payable within 90 days of the award of the tender.