Markets are dealing with lingering pessimism over the announcement of a raft of reciprocal tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
Despite the dour mood, some businesses have still done well and managed to grow their revenue and profits.
Investors can look at the list of stocks hitting their 52-week highs to filter out possible gems that they can add to their portfolios.
We shine the spotlight on five such stocks that you may wish to add to your buy watchlist.
Centurion is a provider of purpose-built worker accommodation (PBWA) and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) assets in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and China.
As of 31 March 2025, the group owns and manages a portfolio of 37 accommodation assets totalling 69,929 beds.
Centurion’s share price has soared 55% year-to-date (YTD) and hit its 52-week high of S$1.50.
The group released an encouraging business update for the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025).
Revenue rose 13% year on year to S$69 million, led by a 15% year-on-year revenue jump in the PBWA segment.
The average occupancy stayed high at 99% for Singapore’s PBWA for 1Q 2025, and management has commenced the redevelopment of Westlite Toh Guan and Westlite Mandai to add 1,764 and 3,696 new beds by 4Q 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Over in Malaysia, average occupancy dipped to 82% because of short-term headwinds from the foreign worker cap.
Management is, however, exploring a potential development of 7,000 beds in Nusajaya in Johor.
Meanwhile, Centurion is developing a new 732-bed PBSA in Macquarie Park (Sydney), with expected completion in 4Q 2025.
Azeus is a provider of software products and services and delivers innovative IT solutions to organisations and government agencies in more than 100 countries.
Azeus’ share price has shot up 46% YTD to close at its 52-week and all-time high of S$16.50.
The group announced a strong set of results for fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025.
Revenue jumped 44% year on year to HK$474.8 million.
Gross margin increased by six percentage points from 71% to 77%, with gross profit climbing 56% year on year to HK$363.8 million.
Net profit leapt 96% year on year to HK$166.9 million.
This growth is the result of the continued growth in the Azeus Products business line and its Central Electronic Record Keeping System contract.
The group also doubled its free cash flow generation to HK$194.4 million for FY2025.
A final dividend of HK$3.90 was declared, taking the FY2025 dividend to HK$5.50.
Food Empire manufactures instant beverages, snack foods, and food ingredients and distributes them to more than 60 countries.
The group has a portfolio of proprietary brands such as MacCoffee, CafePHO, and Klassno.
The food and beverage manufacturer saw its share price soar 90% YTD to its 52-week high of S$1.86.
For 1Q 2025, total revenue climbed 16.3% year on year to US$136.6 million, representing a strong start to the year.
The strong performance was contributed to by a 33.8% year-on-year revenue increase in Southeast Asia and a 31.7% year-on-year revenue rise for South Asia.
Food Empire adopted a dynamic pricing approach to cushion its performance from inflation and rising coffee bean costs.
Looking ahead, the group plans to establish a freeze-dried soluble coffee manufacturing facility in Binh Dinh province, with completion expected to be by 2028.
By the first half of 2025, the group will complete the expansion of its snack manufacturing facility in Malaysia.
Over in Kazakhstan, construction of its first coffee-mix manufacturing facility should be completed by the end of this year.
China Sunsine is a specialty chemical producer selling rubber accelerators, insoluble sulphur, and anti-oxidants.
The group is the largest rubber accelerator in the world and serves more than 75% of global tyre makers, including Bridgestone, Michelin, and Goodyear.
China Sunsine’s share price climbed 23.3% YTD to hit its 52-week high of S$0.57.
For 2024, the group saw revenue inch up 1% year on year to RMB 3.5 billion.
Gross margin improved slightly from 22.9% to 24.2%, leading to a 6% year-on-year growth in gross profit to RMB 850 million.
Net profit increased by 14% year on year to RMB 423.9 million for 2024.
The business also churned out a positive free cash flow of RMB 459.5 million, up 9.6% year on year.
In line with the good results, China Sunsine declared a final dividend of S$0.03, comprising an ordinary dividend of S$0.02 and a special dividend of S$0.01.
This was higher than the previous year’s total final dividend of S$0.025.
SIA Engineering, or SIAEC, is a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) specialist for aircraft and also provides line and base maintenance services.
SIAEC’s share price rose 20.6% YTD to hit its 52-week high of S$2.87.
For FY2025, the group reported revenue of S$1.24 billion, up 13.8% year on year.
Operating profit stood at S$14.6 million while net profit came in at S$139.6 million, up 43.8% year on year.
Net profit was boosted by a 17.4% year-on-year increase in the share of profits from SIAEC’s associates and joint ventures.
Free cash flow nearly doubled year on year from S$51.7 million to S$102.6 million for FY2025.
A final dividend of S$0.07 was declared, slightly higher than the S$0.06 paid out a year ago.
SIAEC declared a total FY2025 dividend of S$0.09.
The group’s strategy is to expand its geographical presence and also grow its capacity and MRO capabilities to handle new-generation aircraft.
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