SG Morning Call | Singapore's Grab Bets on AI, New Services to Triple Profit by 2028

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday. STI down 0.3%; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding up 7%; UOL up 3%; Olam down 8%.

Stocks in Focus

$ST Engineering(S63.SI)$: ST Engineering reported a net profit of S$59.9 million for H2 FY2025, an 83.6 per cent decline from S$381 million a year prior. This figure includes gains on divestments as well as shareholding interests in CityCab, SPTel and Starco, and one-off impairment losses related to iDirect group and Jet-Talk. The counter ended Thursday 2.1 per cent or S$0.21 lower at S$10.02 prior to the results release.

$Wilmar Intl(F34.SI)$: The agribusiness posted a 38.3 per cent rise in net profit to US$815.9 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2025, up from US$590.2 million previously. The group attributed the gains mainly to strong performance in its feed and industrial products segment. Shares of Wilmar International shed 2.8 per cent or S$0.10 to close at S$3.50 on Thursday, before the news.

$UOL(U14.SI)$: Property player 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 a year earlier. Earnings per share for H2 FY2025 stood at S$0.3268, compared with S$0.2696 for the same period a year earlier. Shares of UOL closed down 6.1 per cent or S$0.69 to S$10.68 on Thursday, before the news.

$CityDev(C09.SI)$: Its second half earnings rose 374 per cent to S$538.5 million, from S$113.5 million in the previous corresponding period. This translates to an earnings per share of S$0.598, against an earnings per share of S$0.121 in the year-ago period, the company said on Friday. H2 revenue for the half-year stood at S$1.9 billion, up 11.1 per cent from S$1.7 billion in the year-ago period. Shares of CDL ended Thursday 6 per cent or S$0.60 down at S$9.36.

$Venture(V03.SI)$: Venture Corporation posted a 6.1 per cent fall in H2 FY2025 earnings to S$114 million from S$121.4 million the year prior. It also reported a 5.8 per cent fall in H2 FY2025 revenue to S$1.3 billion from S$1.4 billion in H2 FY2024. Shares of Venture closed down 0.1 per cent or S$0.01 to S$16.90 on Thursday.

$Golden Agri-Res(E5H.SI)$: GAR recorded an 8.5 per cent drop in net profit to US$239.9 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2025, from US$262.1 million in the previous corresponding period. Earnings per share stood at US$0.0189 for the half-year, down from US$0.0207 the year before. Shares of GAR closed S$0.005 or 1.7 per cent lower at S$0.29 on Thursday, before the results were announced.

$First Resources(EB5.SI)$: The group posted a net profit of S$204.7 million for the second half ended Dec 31, 2025, a rise of 44.3 per cent year on year from S$141.8 million. This came as profit from operations rose 47.8 per cent on the year to S$286 million for H2, from S$193.5 million. The counter ended 5.1 per cent or S$0.12 lower at S$2.20 before the release of results.

$Bumitama Agri(P8Z.SI)$: The indonesian palm oil producer posted a net profit of 1.5 trillion rupiah (around S$120 million) for its second half ended Dec 31, 2025, 7.4 per cent up from 1.4 trillion rupiah in H2 2024. The improvements came as the company recorded its highest ever quarterly revenue for Q4 2025, of 6.3 trillion rupiah, which surpassed the previous record high achieved. Shares of Bumitama Agri closed Thursday 9.5 per cent or S$0.14 lower at S$1.33.

$PropNex(OYY.SI)$: It posted a net profit of S$28.1 million for its second half ended Dec 31, up 28.3 per cent from S$21.9 million in the year-ago period. H2 revenue rose 18.3 per cent on the year to S$517.5 million from S$437.4 million previously, mainly driven by increased commission income from project marketing services, due to a higher number of transactions completed in H2 2025. The counter closed on Thursday 2.2 per cent or S$0.05 down at S$2.23.

$Centurion(OU8.SI)$: Centurion Corporation posted an 82 per cent drop in net profit to S$40.9 million for its second half ended Dec 31, 2025, from S$226.6 million in the previous corresponding period. For the full year ended Dec 31, 2025, net profit was down 67 per cent to S$114.8 million. Shares of Centurion ended at S$1.59, up S$0.03 or 1.9 per cent on Thursday, before the release of the results.

SG Local News

Singapore Fertility Rate Posts ‘Significant’ Drop to Record Low

Singapore’s total fertility rate fell to 0.87 in 2025, marking a record low that a top official warned could profoundly reshape the city-state’s society and economy.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong told parliament Thursday the citizen population is projected to begin shrinking by the early 2040s without new measures. The fertility rate declined from 0.97 in 2024, which was also a record low. A decade ago, it stood at 1.24.

Singapore's Grab Bets on AI, New Services to Triple Profit by 2028

Southeast Asia's top ride-hailing and delivery firm, Grab, is betting on artificial intelligence and expansion of new services such as online groceries and financial products to triple profit by 2028, the company's president told Reuters.

Grab has set goals for the next three years of growing revenue by more than 20% each year and tripling EBITDA to $1.5 billion in 2028 from last year's level, President and Chief Operating Officer Alex Hungate said in an interview at the company's Singapore headquarters.

English Premier League to Debut Streaming Service in Singapore, FT Reports

The world’s most popular club football competition, the English Premier League, is set to launch its own direct-to-consumer streaming service in Singapore this year, with plans for potential expansion to other countries, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Speaking at the FT Business of Football Summit in London, Premier League CEO Richard Masters said the new service, called Premier League +, would be available for the 2026-2027 season, according to the report.