If you’re reading this instalment of 4 Stocks This Week on the day it is published, congratulations, you’ve made it through day 13 of the “Circuit Breaker”. The DollarsAndSense team hopes you are well, and looks forward to providing essential personal finance coverage from the confines of our respective homes.
Unless you’re providing an essential service, the only time you’re allowed to leave your house is to exercise or to purchase food and groceries. Thus, we thought it would be fitting this week to cover SGX-listed companies which are in the business of providing consumer staples.
Read Also: 6 Ways You Can Support Local Businesses During This COVID-19 “Circuit Breaker” Period
Dairy Farm (SGX: D01)
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited is a subsidiary of the Jardine Matheson Group. In addition to having a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, Diary Farm also has secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore, where it is a constituent of the benchmark Straits Times Index since 24 September 2018.
The company employs around 230,000 people and operates an extensive network of 10,533 supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, as well as F&B outlets all across Asia. In Singapore, Dairy Farm runs well-known and well-loved brands such as Cold Storage, Giant, 7-Eleven, Guardian, and MarketPlace. Dairy Farm also owns the IKEA home furnishings franchise in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau and Taiwan.
According to its 2019 Annual Report, the company racked up USD$27.7 billion in total sales that year, up 26% from the previous year. This was despite disruptions in Hong Kong due to protests.
Diary Farm closed at USD $4.95 this week.
Sheng Siong (SGX: OV8)
Founded in 1985, Sheng Siong Group Ltd was listed on the SGX Mainboard in 2011. The group’s main business is operating the Sheng Siong supermarket chain, which has more than 61 outlets across Singapore. Alongside distributing products from their partners, the company has also developed their own selection of housebrands.
To support its retail operations, the company has an extensive network of distribution centres, food processing facilities, warehousing facilities, including its corporate headquarters at Mandai Link.
After dipping to a one-year low of $1.02 on 19 March 2020, Sheng Siong’s stock surged more than 30% to close at $1.46 this week. This meant that Sheng Siong’s founder Lim Hock Chee and his family, which owns a combined stake of 57%, now has a net worth of $1.1 billion.
Read Also: How Much Can You Save Over A Month When You Buy House Brands At Supermarkets?
F&N (SGX: F99)
Fraser and Neave, or F&N, has two main businesses. First, F&N is the owner of many beloved beverage and dairy brands that everyday consumers would be familiar with, including F&N itself, 100PLUS, Seasons, Fruit Tree, Nutrisoy, Ice Mountain, Magnolia, Farmhouse, Blue Cow. Second, it also has a publishing and bookstore arm, which owns companies like Marshall Cavendish, Times, and Times Printers.
Beverage conglomerate and STI-constituent ThaiBev is a major shareholder in F&N, owning 28.44% of the company.
With a market capitalisation of $2.1 billion, F&N closed this week at $1.46, up about 32% from a year-low of $1.10 on 23 March 2020.
Read Also: 3 Reasons Why Singaporeans Are Willing To Pay For Overpriced Transparent Drinks
QAF (SGX: Q01)
Listed on SGX since 1967, the Singapore-headquartered QAF Ltd’s main businesses are the manufacture of bread, bakery and confectionary products; operations of supermarkets; cold storage warehousing; trading and distribution in food, beverage, food-related ingredients and commodities; as well as the production, processing and marketing of pork.
The company has operations across Asia-Pacific, including Malaysia, Australia, The Philippines, and Taiwan. QAF owns food brands like Gardenia, Bonjour and Rivalea, Australia’s largest pork producer.
In its 2019 annual report which was released on 16 March 2020, the group reported total revenues of $864 million, coming from Bakery segment ($379 million), Primary Production ($367 milion) and a record $112 million from distribution and warehousing.
After hitting $0.605 on 23 March 2020, a 1-year low, QAF has since climbed 33% to end the week at $0.805.
4 Stocks This Week is not a recommendation from us to buy or sell any of these stocks. For investors who are keen to find out more, you should continue researching about them before making your investment decisions.
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