Beyond SG Banks: Unlocking 4.5% to 6% Yields in Venture & HRnetGroup

The Singapore market has been buzzing with excitement over local banks.

It’s understandable as all three major banks – DBS (SGX: D05), OCBC (SGX: O39), and UOB (SGX: U11) – just posted robust 1H 2026 performance.

However, after a rapid share price rally over the past quarter, dividend yields have compressed significantly. While their payout remains respectable, initial entry yields are no longer as lucrative as before.

Buying at current valuations requires assuming dividends will continually expand alongside business growth – while plausible, it is not guaranteed.

If you are seeking sustainable, attractive yield, you don’t have to limit yourself to the banks. There are other listed companies that have quietly maintained solid dividend track records over the years.

Today, I’m spotlighting two positions in my portfolio: Venture Corporation (SGX: V03) and HRnetGroup (SGX: CHZ). Both delivered encouraging 1H 2026 results while declaring attractive interim payouts.

Let’s dive into their latest numbers and growth prospects.

🎧  Prefer to listen to this analysis while you multitask? Stream the companion audio here, or scroll down to read.

Venture Corporation: The Turnaround Gains Traction

Venture’s performance in recent years has been lacklustre, primarily due to two key headwinds:

• Semiconductor inventory digestion: Absorption of the global supply glut throughout FY2023 and FY2024.
• Lower replacement cycles: Last year’s paradoxical dip in Lifestyle Consumer sales, driven by improved product reliability reducing replacement frequency.

However, the group’s 1H 2026 financial results provide clear evidence that the cyclical trough is firmly in the rearview mirror.

For 1H 2026, revenue expanded 7.4% YOY to S$1.35 billion, while net profit rose 5.6% YOY to S$119.3 million.

Crucially, operational momentum is accelerating sequentially: 2Q 2026 sales surged 15.6% QOQ to S$736.2 million, demonstrating robust demand recovery across key end-markets.

Let’s zoom in on how Venture is performing across its two core operational portfolios.

Segment Performance: Portfolio B Leading the Charge

Venture categorises its business segments into two main portfolios:

• Portfolio A: Life Science, Medtech and Lifestyle Consumer
• Portfolio B: Test & Measurement Instrument, Networkings & Communications, Semiconductor Related

Looking at the numbers, it is clear that Portfolio B has taken the driver’s seat.

After registering an 11% YOY sales growth in the first quarter, Portfolio B’s growth accelerated sharply to 26% YOY this quarter — reflecting strong, tangible demand driven by global AI infrastructure rollouts.

Meanwhile, although Portfolio A experienced another soft quarter, it is clearly base-forming.

While the exact timeline for the next-generation product rollout with their key Lifestyle Consumer client remains fluid, downside pressure from here appears limited.

The takeaway is simple: With Portfolio B now accounting for over 60% of total revenue, the powerful operational momentum it is enjoying will naturally flow straight through to Venture’s overall bottom line.

Interim Dividend: A “Permanent” 20% Hike

Venture doesn’t operate with a strict policy of paying out a fixed percentage of its earnings.

Instead, management has consistently demonstrated its commitment to shareholder returns by maintaining or growing absolute dividend payouts – even during multi-year sales and profit contractions.

They can comfortably afford this strategy thanks to two core financial pillars: consistently robust operating cash flow generation and a fortress balance sheet with S$1.11 billion in net cash with zero debt.

Barring unforeseen macro shocks, you can safely assume that any raise in Venture’s base dividend (whether interim or final) is intended to be permanent.

However, that exact discipline also means you shouldn’t automatically expect another hike in the final dividend at year-end.

Based on their past record, management will only raise the baseline when they are completely convinced of its multi-year operational sustainability.

That said, if business momentum continues to accelerate into the second half, the real upside catalyst lies in another discretionary special dividend.

That would be a nice bonus, but I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch.

Assuming the final dividend holds at S$0.50 per share, the stock at its current price of around S$17 still offers an attractive, net-cash backed 4.7% yield.

HRnetGroup: Resilient Amid Recruitment Industry Headwinds

At first glance, HRnetGroup’s 1H 2026 headline numbers look worrying.

Revenue dipped 0.1% YOY to S$292 million, while net profit plunged nearly 30% YOY to S$19.8 million.

However, a deeper dive into the financial statements reveals that despite ongoing headwinds across the global recruitment sector, HRnetGroup’s core operations held steady.

The drastic drop in net profit was driven primarily by non-operating factors, such as a sharp reduction in government subsidies alongside adverse fair-value mark-to-market swings on financial assets.

Just like I didn’t buy into last year’s “Other Income” boost, I am not overly concerned by this period’s non-operational swing either.

Instead, my focus remains on HRnetGroup’s core operational engine which continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience.

Segment Performance: The Beauty of Twin Engines (FS & PR)

A look at the segmental breakdown shows a mixed regional picture, rather than a definitive trend:

• Flexible Staffing (FS): Dipped slightly in the core Singapore market, but expanded solidly across international markets.
• Professional Recruitment (PR): Recorded upticks in Singapore and the Rest of Asia, but faced softness in North Asia.

While I would love to see at least one segment deliver a sharp, Venture-like acceleration, this regional divergence highlights the beauty of HRnetGroup’s business model.

Its twin engines of FS and PR naturally adapt to local economic conditions, with FS providing a sticky revenue baseline when hiring slows, and PR boosting the bottom line during economic expansion.

This resilience, combined with a pristine balance sheet holding S$330 million in net cash and equivalents, allows HRnetGroup continuing to reward patient shareholders even during industry downturns.

Capital Returns: Progressive Hike in Dividend

Given the flattish operational backdrop, the 10% increase in the interim dividend to S$0.022 per share came as a pleasant surprise.

However, seeing an interim payout ratio of 103% naturally sounded an alarm in my head. While I appreciated the increased “pay-check”, this immediate question that came to mind: Is this dividend actually sustainable?

During the earnings call, CFO Jennifer Kang addressed this directly. She shared that given HRnetGroup’s robust balance sheet, the business has more than enough cash to support working capital, M&A, and growth initiatives simultaneously.

Furthermore, thanks to strong operational cash flows and strict capital discipline, management is confident to move beyond simply preserving cash to returning surplus capital progressively and responsibly.

With this assurance, it is likely that HRnetGroup will at least maintain its current payout of S$0.044 per share annually. At the current price of around S$0.74, this translates to a very attractive yield of nearly 6%.

Conclusion: Growth Takes Time, Yield Doesn’t Wait

Both Venture and HRnetGroup have repeatedly proven that a fortress cash buffer and strict capital discipline allow a company to sustain generous dividends through any market cycle.

It’s not that they aren’t seeking growth. In fact, both have continued expanding their operational capacity while remaining firmly profitable throughout the industry downturn.

But like compounding, harvesting the fruits of that expansion simply takes time.

Between the two, Venture has clearer immediate catalysts powering its near-term recovery, while HRnetGroup’s turnaround is likely to take a little longer to play out.

As an investor, however, I prefer to accumulate on the cheap when the business is out of favour due to temporary uncertainty.

I’m glad I added more Venture last year when it was trading at a trough of S$11 with little visibility.

Similarly, I continue to accumulate HRnetGroup this year, as its yield won’t stay at ~6% once hiring demand rebounds. By the time the recovery becomes obvious to everyone else, the discount and the entry yield will already be gone.

The catch?

You must have conviction in the underlying business, and your position sizing must account for downside risk while you wait.

Corporate Insights By HRnetGroup

If you would like to hear directly from the HRnetGroup management team, Phillip Securities (POEMS) is hosting a webinar this coming Wednesday from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, covering:

• 1H 2026 business update and outlook
• Strategic priorities and growth initiatives
• Capital allocation and shareholder returns

You can secure your spot here: HRnetGroup Webinar Registration

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