With the earnings season winding down, one of the last blue-chip stocks to report its 2023 earnings is Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63), or STE. The engineering giant pulled off an impressive performance with healthy top and bottom-line growth for last year. The group also paid out a quarterly dividend of S$0.04, bringing 2023’s total dividend to S$0.16, the same as what was paid out the year before. Here are five salient highlights from STE’s latest earnings report that investors should know about.

1. A robust financial performance

2023 saw STE’s revenue rise 11.8% year on year to S$10.1 billion, with revenue growth coming from all three of the group’s segments. Operating profit jumped 24.4% year on year to S$914.7 million but included a divestment loss for Satixfy along with severance costs from the Satellite Communication (Satcom) division. 2022 also saw a pension restructuring gain of S$72 million. Adjusting for these one-off items, STE’s operating profit would have...