Shares in DBS Group Research closed 70 cents higher, or 1.57% up, at $45.38 on Feb 10, following the release of the bank’s financial results for FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024 before trading hours.
Singapore’s largest stock by market capitalisation reached an intra-day high of $46.50 within the first 10 minutes of trading, before retreating to an intra-day low of $45.31 right before the market closed for the day.
DBS shares were the most-traded counter by value on Feb 10, with some 8.5 million shares worth $390.4 million changing hands.
DBS reported a net profit of $2.62 billion for its 4QFY2024, up 10% y-o-y but down 13% q-o-q. This brings its full-year earnings to a new record of $11.4 billion, up 11% over the preceding FY2023.
DBS also announced a final dividend of 60 cents, up from 54 cents per quarter it had paid from 1QFY2024 to 3QFY2024. This means DBS shareholders will receive a total of $2.22 per share for FY2024, up 27% over the preceding year.
DBS also introduced a “capital return dividend” of 15 cents per share per quarter to be paid out over FY2025, and the bank’s leaders have indicated that this will continue into the subsequent two years.
See also: Piyush Gupta delivers yet another record full-year profit in his final report card for DBS
That said, DBS’s incoming CEO Tan Su Shan said at a Feb 10 media briefing that the bank wants flexibility in ways to give back to its shareholders.
Analysts have already reacted to the dividend bonanza, with OCBC Investment Research analyst Carmen Lee raising her target price on DBS to $50 from $43.60 previously.
Lee expects that DBS will pay a total dividend of $3 in FY2025, representing an estimated dividend yield of 6% to 7%. The total yearly dividend assumes that the bank’s quarterly dividend remains steady at 60 cents as well as its capital return of 15 cents per share per quarter.
