OREANDA-NEWS. August 06, 2015. As a regional and global hub for companies to do business, transportation is an import part of Singapore’s economy.  While technology is moving services around the world, transportation continues to move people, capital goods and consumer products across the globe. In 2014, Singapore’s total trade comprising imports and exports reached \\$982.7 billion as reported by the Department of Statistics. Furthermore, many of Singapore’s largest transportation stocks have been in business for a long time.

As noted on the online history page of Singapore Post, the company can date its heritage back to the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. The company notes that in those days, a single mail office collected and delivered the small volume of letters located in the previous Parliament House and run by just three persons. Following independence on 9 August 1965, Singapore took over its own postal functions in stages and was admitted to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 8 January 1966. The Singapore Postal Services Department became a fully autonomous body on 1 January 1967.

The table below details the 10 largest stocks that are categorised by Global Industry Classification Standards (GICS) to the Transportation Sector as well as the date that their first businesses were founded.  This is based on data by S&P Capital IQ who also provide company information in SGX StockFacts.

These ten stocks currently maintain a combined market capitalisation of S\\$45 billion which represents almost 5% of the total market capitalisation of all stocks listed on Singapore Exchange (SGX). The largest stock of the 10, Singapore Airlines maintained an operating fleet of 170 aircraft, including 162 passenger aircraft and 8 freighters as of 31 March.

As detailed in the table below, nine of the 10 stocks maintain a dividend yield, with yields averaging 3.9%. Please note that clicking directly on the stock name below will take you to the relevant profile page on SGX StockFacts.

Name SGX Code Market Cap S\\$M GICS SubInd Name Div Yield in %
Singapore Airlines C6L 12,238 Airlines 2.1
Hutchison Port Holdings Trust NS8U 7,092 Marine Ports & Services 8.1
ComfortDelGro Corp C52 6,448 Trucking 2.7
SATS S58 4,227 Airport Services 3.7
Singapore Post S08 4,117 Air Freight & Logistics 3.4
SIA Engineering Co S59 3,885 Airport Services 4.2
Neptune Orient Lines N03 2,341 Marine N/A
SMRT Corp S53 2,063 Railroads 2.4
CWT C14 1,321 Air Freight & Logistics 1.8
China Merchants Holdings (Pacific) C22 1,193 Highways & Railtracks 6.5

Source: SGX StockFacts (Data as of 3 August 2015)

These dividend yields are based on based on the stock’s most recent annualised dividend per share divided by its price per share. Half of the 10 stocks also featured in yesterday’s My Gateway Newsletter feature - The 26 Singapore Stocks in the World’s High Dividend Index – click here to read.

Recent Performances

As detailed in the table below, reinvested dividends boost the average annualised returns of the 10 stocks to 10.4% over a 10-year period ending 31 July.

More recently, the 10 stocks averaged a marginal price gain of 0.3% in July, taking their average price gain to 5.7% for the first seven months on 2015.

In the weaker month of July that saw the FTSE Asian Industrial Goods & Services Index decline 4.1%, Neptune Orient Lines generated the highest gains of the 10 largest transportation stocks with a 13.4% gain, followed by CWT, which gained 10.9%.

Source: SGX StockFacts (Data as of 31 July 2015)

Recent Price Points

SGX StockFacts is now including volume weighted average price (VWAP) information. VWAP is computed based on total value of securities traded for the six months under review divided by the total traded volume traded for the six months. This applies regardless of the number of trading days during the six-month review period (i.e. where the securities are thinly traded or trading is halted/suspended for a period of time). VWAP is source from SGX.

On average the 10 transportation stocks closed yesterday almost 16% below their 12-month high price and 18% above their 12-month low price. Stocks that are trading closest to their high price are SATS, CWT, and ComfortDelgro Corporation. Meanwhile stocks that are closest to their 12-month low price are SMRT Corporation, SIA Engineering Corporation, and Hutchison Port Holdings Trust. The average Price/Earnings (P/E) Ratio for the 10 stocks is 21.1. The P/E Ratio shows what price investors are willing to pay for every dollar the company earns.

For a previous Market Update that covered the 20 largest transport stocks please click here. Please also note that if you missed the recent Market Dialogue with SIA Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong - titled Singapore Airlines Soars with Band of Blue Bloods - please click here.