• The FTSE ST All-Share Index, comprising the 30 STI stocks in addition to another 72 mid-cap to small-cap stocks, has generated a 1.4% YTD total return, bringing the broader benchmark’s total return since end 2019 to 10.9%, marginally outpacing the FTSE APAC Index at 8.0%.
   
• Of the 102 FTSE ST All-Share stocks, 84 rank among Singapore’s 100 most traded stocks by turnover so far this year. Within the Index, Consumer Cyclicals have booked the most net institutional inflows in the YTD (led by Genting) which is in-line with the Sector ranking among the three strongest performing sectors across the region and globe in the YTD.
   
• The strongest YTD performer within the Index in the YTD was Delfi, which generated a 65% total return, while ranking among Singapore’s 80 most traded stocks. The stock has booked double-digit YoY percentage revenue growth in 2022 and 1Q23 on the back of consumer demand for its branded confectionary products in Indonesia. 

Comparative Returns of the FTSE ST All-Share Index & Global Parallels

Like 2H22, 1H23 has produced a 300 point trading range on the STI, with the Index declining 0.9% so far this year, and dividends taking the benchmark’s total return to 1.7%. The broader FTSE ST All-Share Index which consists of the 30 STI stocks in addition to another 72 mid-cap to small-cap stocks, has generated a similar 1.4% total return. Of the 102 FTSE ST All-Share stocks, 84 rank among Singapore’s 100 most traded stocks by turnover so far this year.

The year-to-date flattish Index returns of the FTSE ST All-share Index have coincided with the trade-centred economy’s non-oil domestic exports reverting to 2020 levels. At the same time 1Q23 has contracted 0.4% QoQ but added 0.4% YoY, with the global growth outlook dented by higher interest rates and slowing growth momentum in China. Nevertheless, stock prices are inherently forward looking, and the Sectors which have led both global and regional stocks so far in 1H23 have included Technology, Communications and Consumer-Cyclicals. This is not inconsistent with the familiar and longer-term theme and possibly short-term corporate aspirations of innovative digital-enabled consumer growth.

In Singapore, consumer cyclical stocks have booked the most net institutional inflows this year. Singapore’s three most traded technology stocks which comprise Venture Corporation, UMS Holdings and AEM Holdings have generated average total returns that have kept pace with the Nasdaq Composite since the end of 2019. In addition Singapore Telecommunications, which underperformed global peers by 35% and regional peers by 40% in the first 10 months of 2020, has since outpaced both these peer groups by 25%. Three of the five stocks of the FTSE ST All-Share Index that have booked the highest ratio of year-to-date net institutional inflow to current market capitalisation include consumer cyclical and technology stocks which included AEM Holdings, Best World International and Genting Singapore. The trio have booked single digit percentage total returns for the period.

Delfi Led FTSE ST All-Share Index in 2023 YTD

Delfi has ranked among the 80 most traded Singapore stocks this year, while generating a 65% total return. For its 1Q23, Delfi recorded strong YoY revenue growth of 20.8%, driven by consumer demand producing robust growth in both its Own Brands and Agency Brands, spanning both Indonesia and its Regional markets. Indonesia comprises more than two-thirds of Delfi’s revenue and this followed YoY revenue growth of 19.2% in 2022.

Statista highlighted in April that the Indonesian retail sector has been rapidly growing in Asia, contributing around 13 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the country adding that with its relatively large population of more than 270 million, the growing middle class with higher purchasing power, and millennials with bigger spending habits, Indonesia holds significant potential for the retail market.

Paralleling this, Delfi expects its business momentum to carry through for most of 2023 and thus remains focused on executing growth strategies for its core brands, strengthening distribution capabilities and supporting growth in its Regional Businesses so as to continue to benefit from the expected growth in consumer demand in its key markets. The Group has an established portfolio of chocolate confectionery brand names in Indonesia including SilverQueen and Ceres which were introduced in the 1950s and Delfi in the 1980s. 

At S$1.24, the share price of Delfi is between the 52 week high at S$1.45 and 52 week low of S$0.67. On the valuation front, while at 2.3x, the P/B ratio of Delfi is trading at a premium to its 1.9x five-year P/B average, while the P/E at 13x is trading at a discount to its 18x five-year P/E average.

The 10 strongest and 10 least performers of the Index in the year-to-date are tabled below.

Source: Reuters, Bloomberg, FTSE (Data as of 21 June 2023)

Source: Reuters, Bloomberg, FTSE (Data as of 21 June 2023)