Year-in-Review: The 5 Best-Performing Stocks of 2024
It’s been an interesting year for investors.
As of 3 December, the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) has gained over 16% and is trading at a 17-year high.
The index’s performance came as a surprise to many as the Singapore stock market has been moribund since the pandemic ended.
But besides the strong performance of the blue-chip index, other non-blue-chip stocks also performed very well.
We round up five of the best-performing stocks for 2024 and review their latest earnings and prospects.
Note: Share price data as of 29 November 2024.
Centurion Corporation (SGX: OU8)
Centurion Corporation owns, develops, and manages purpose-built worker accommodation assets (PBWA) in Singapore, Malaysia, and China.
The group also has a portfolio of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets in Australia, the UK, and the US along with build-to-rent assets in China.
Centurion’s share price has leapt 129.3% year-to-date (YTD) to end at S$0.94, close to its 52-week high of S$1.01.
The group reported a strong set of earnings for the first nine months of 2024 (9M 2024).
Revenue rose 25% year on year to S$186.5 million.
PBWA set the pace with a 27% year-on-year revenue increase to S$143.8 million while PBSA saw revenue jump 20% year on year to S$42.1 million.
PBWA enjoyed a high financial occupancy of 95% while PBSA’s financial occupancy touched 98% for 9M 2024.
For PBWA, a new 1,650-bed property (Westlite Ubi) is expected to be completed by December this year.
In Malaysia, several asset enhancement initiatives are ongoing to expand and enhance portfolio capacity.
One of these will add 680 beds by the end of this year while the other will add around 870 beds by the fourth quarter of 2025.
On the PBSA side, Centurion is redeveloping Dwell Village Melbourne City into a new PBSA block of 600 beds which will be completed by January 2026.
Grand Banks Yachts (SGX: G50)
Grand Banks Yachts, or GBY, is a manufacturer of recreational motor yachts under the Grand Banks, Eastbay, and Palm Beach brands.
The group has a manufacturing yard in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and service yards located in the US and Australia.
GBY’s share price has shot up 96.7% YTD, going from just S$0.30 to S$0.59.
The business has seen both its top and bottom lines grow steadily.
For the fiscal year 2024 (FY2024) ending 30 June 2024, revenue rose 17.1% year on year to S$133.7 million while net profit more than doubled year on year to S$21.4 million.
A final dividend of S$0.01 was declared, taking FY2024’s dividend to S$0.015.
The yacht manufacturer kept up the momentum for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (1Q FY2025).
Revenue climbed 29.1% year on year to S$40 million while net profit leapt 95% year on year to S$5.4 million.
Net order book stood at S$116 million as of 30 September 2024 with two new models introduced – the PB107 and PB GT50 RS Outboard, with the former being the group’s first over 100 feet.
Sim Leisure Group (SGX: URR)
Sim Leisure Group, or SLG, is a designer, developer, and operator of theme parks.
Some of SLG’s attractions include the ESCAPE parks in Malaysia along with KidZania Singapore and Malaysia.
The theme park operator’s share price has shot up 63.5% YTD to touch S$0.85.
For the first half of 2024 (1H 2024), SLG reported a strong set of financial results.
Revenue increased by 56.2% year on year to RM 86.8 million with gross profit more than doubling year on year to RM 40.3 million.
Net profit increased by nearly 50% year on year to RM 18.1 million.
Preliminary construction work and installation of two indoor ESCAPE challenge parks in Putrajaya and Johor Bahru are proceeding well.
The Putrajaya theme park will launch in the fourth quarter of this year while the one in Johor will come onstream in the second quarter of 2025 (2Q 2025).
Riverstone Holdings (SGX: AP4)
Riverstone manufactures nitrile and natural rubber cleanroom gloves for highly-controlled environments as well as premium nitrile gloves for the healthcare sector.
The glove manufacturer owns six manufacturing facilities in Malaysia (4), Thailand (1), and China (1).
The group’s share price jumped 46.5% YTD to S$1.04.
Riverstone also reported a sparkling set of earnings for 9M 2024.
Revenue rose 16% year on year to RM 794.8 million with gross profit jumping 46.8% year on year to RM 300.3 million.
Net profit increased by nearly 42% year on year to RM 216.9 million.
CEO Wong Teek Son commented that the group is on track to increase capacity for six new clean room production lines.
In line with its strategy to produce customised gloves, the group is also building six new single production lines for healthcare gloves.
These new lines should all be ready and commissioned by 1Q 2025.
Azeus Systems (SGX: BBW)
Azeus Systems sells software products and services and is well-known for its Convene product which is a leading paperless meeting solution.
Azeus’ share price has increased by 37.6% YTD to touch S$11.70.
The software company reported a robust set of results for the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 30 September 2024.
Revenue rose 27% year on year to HK$169.3 million while net profit shot up 79% year on year to HK$48.9 million.
The company continues to expand its geographic footprint and is investing in its new product line – the ESG reporting platform.
Its CERKS contract has also entered the deployment phase and is expected to contribute to both its revenue and profits moving forward.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
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