Category: 3. Business

UMS Integration Limited (SGX:558) has announced that it will pay a dividend of SGD0.01 per share on the 28th of October. This means that the annual payment will be 3.7% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry.

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We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Prior to this announcement, UMS Integration’s dividend was making up a very large proportion of earnings and perhaps more concerning was that it was 213% of cash flows. Paying out such a high proportion of cash flows can expose the business to needing to cut the dividend if the business runs into some challenges.

The next year is set to see EPS grow by 66.6%. Under the assumption that the dividend will continue along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 54% which would be quite comfortable going to take the dividend forward.

See our latest analysis for UMS Integration

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2015, the dividend has gone from SGD0.0384 total annually to SGD0.052. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 3.1% over that duration. Modest growth in the dividend is good to see, but we think this is offset by historical cuts to the payments. It is hard to live on a dividend income if the company’s earnings are not consistent.

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. UMS Integration hasn’t seen much change in its earnings per share over the last five years.

Overall, it’s nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. The payments are bit high to be considered sustainable, and the track record isn’t the best. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we’ve picked out 1 warning sign for UMS Integration that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is UMS Integration not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s mutual fund industry has expanded nearly sevenfold in six years, with total assets climbing to Rs3.93 trillion by June 2025 from Rs578 billion in 2019, driven by strong growth in both conventional and Shariah-compliant investments, according to fresh data from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Conventional funds rose 5.2 times over the period to Rs2.206 trillion, while Shariah-compliant funds surged 6.7 times to Rs1.726 trillion, narrowing the market share gap. Shariah-compliant products now account for 44 per cent of the industry, up from 39 per cent in 2019, reflecting rising investor preference for Islamic finance.

After jumping from Rs2.70 trillion in June 2024 to Rs4.43 trillion in December 2024, mutual fund deposits fell by more than half a trillion rupees to Rs3.93 trillion in June 2025. A senior official of the SECP attributed the sharp decline to the federal government’s announcement of an incremental tax of up to 16 per cent on banks with an advance-to-deposit ratio below 50 per cent as of Dec 31, 2024. “To meet the Advance-to-Deposit Ratio requirement, banks had to either expand lending or reduce deposits. To ease deposit pressure, they encouraged large clients to shift funds into mutual funds, temporarily boosting mutual fund assets. Once the ratio target was met, much of that money flowed back into the banking system after December 31,” official said. Decline was around 10 per cent, from December to June 2025, though a substantial increase on y-o-y basis, he added.Official said that the SECP has been holding focus group sessions with industry stakeholders to map the next phase of reforms. Key priorities include the digital transformation of mutual funds, introduction of exchange traded funds (ETFs), and launching infrastructure and ESG-based funds to tap sustainable investment demand. The regulator also plans to revamp mutual fund distribution models, promote systematic investment plans (SIPs) for retail savers and enhance financial inclusion, with a special focus on women investors. Additionally, reforms are on the table for prudential limits, governance and transparency standards to safeguard investor interests.

Market analysts say the sector’s growth has been fuelled by a mix of low bank deposit returns, rising financial literacy and regulatory support. However, they warn that sustaining momentum will require innovation, wider accessibility and robust oversight. With mutual fund penetration still low compared to regional peers, the SECP’s reform agenda signals a push to deepen capital markets and channel more domestic savings into productive investments — a shift that could support Pakistan’s broader economic development goals. Retail investors now hold 39.2 per cent of Pakistan’s total Assets Under Management (AUMs) in 2025, up from 38 per cent in 2019, while corporate investors’ share reduced to 61pc against 62pc in 2019. The SECP data also shows that 56pc of total AUMs are conventional, while 44pc are Shariah-compliant. There are now 768,769 individual investors and 6,361 corporate investors in the market, showing widening retail participation in mutual funds and capital markets.

aris glimmered in the sort of heat that brings everything down to a silence. Within the Place d’Iéna, Hermès provided a little mercy — cool flannels upon arrival (‘cool flannels at the door’ refers to the practice of offering damp, chilled cloths (flannels) to guests as a refreshing gesture, especially in hot weather — I could use one right about now) — before seating guests in a room that seemed tranquil and restrained.

This set the tone for Véronique Nichanian’s (the artistic director of Hermès’ menswear division) latest show, an exercise in relaxation, proportion, and texture.

Her solution to summer’s demands was to let the house’s leather breathe. The colour range remained traditional Hermès — deep, inky black, rich tobacco, soft neutrals — with muted coral, sage, and pale blue as quiet punctuation.

Tailoring and layering were, as always, strong and precise. The proportions just shifted a little here: shorter jackets, open-neck shirts worn under safari styles. Easy, relaxed slacks were the foundation paired with an effortless combination of bomber jackets, shirt-jackets and even weightless outerwear. Scarves, both silk and fringed leather, hung loose and low in a Parisian gesture of nonchalance.

“It’s the proportion I like — wider trousers, shorter jackets,” Nichanian declared.

Texture was the heart of it all: shirts in satin that skipped the collar entirely, polos where the seams deliberately didn’t quite line up, and V-necks punctured with tiny holes.

The bags were more than just accessories. Large H canvas totes, some plain, others decorated with a horse mid-leap, opened the lineup. Some bags showed off fun prints, while others played it simple and clean. They were all generously sized, obviously designed for everyday use and travel.

Shoulder totes and solid holdalls that you could just grab and go stole the limelight. The whole outing was fresh and just effortlessly easy. Nichanian called it “lightness,” but it came across as conviction — the quiet assurance of a man who knows what belongs in his world and wears it without fuss — brought to life by the collection.

– Images by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

ChatGPT’s popularity exploded instantly upon its November 2022 debut — acquiring a staggering 100 million active users in two months — but concerns about the technology’s drain on resources have risen in tandem.

Quantifying the environmental impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT has been an elusive endeavor, and as The Guardian observed, OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman have been frustratingly opaque about the energy demands of its newest offering, GPT-5.

What’s happening?

Per The Guardian, as of mid-2023, a simple query using ChatGPT used “about as much electricity as an incandescent bulb consumes in 2 minutes.”

Research published as a preprint in March 2023 looked at ChatGPT’s water usage, asserting that training the GPT-3 model could “directly evaporate 700,000 liters of clean freshwater, but such information has been kept a secret.”

On August 7, ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI introduced GPT-5, its latest and most feature-heavy offering.

GPT-5 represented “a significant leap in intelligence over all our previous models, featuring state-of-the-art performance across coding, math, writing, health, visual perception, and more,” OpenAI claimed as the model was unveiled.

The Guardian’s coverage pointed out that ChatGPT’s usage of resources would likely increase in conjunction with its capabilities, adding that OpenAI had been markedly silent on the subject over the past five years.

While OpenAI hasn’t been forthcoming, experts weighed in on what they suspect is necessarily a thirstier, energy-gobbling ChatGPT model.

“A more complex model like GPT-5 consumes more power both during training and during inference … I can safely say that it’s going to consume a lot more power than GPT-4,” said University of Illinois professor Rakesh Kumar, who researches AI and energy usage.

Why is GPT-5’s energy usage concerning?

ChatGPT’s leap from a million to 100 million users wasn’t a blip — back in March, TechCrunch analyzed more recent usage trends following its introduction in November 2022.

“By November 2023, ChatGPT had reached another milestone of 100 million weekly active users, which grew to 300 million by December 2024, then 400 million in February 2025,” the outlet explained.

Citing initial calculations from the University of Rhode Island’s AI lab on Friday, August 8, The Guardian surmised that GPT-5’s capabilities could require an amount of energy that “would correspond to burning that incandescent bulb for 18 minutes.”

Put another way, GPT-5 could use as much daily energy as 1.5 million households in the United States.

University of California, Riverside, AI researcher Shaolei Ren said GPT-5’s energy requirements “should be orders of magnitude higher than that for GPT-3” based on its size alone.

What can be done about AI’s environmental impact?

Although AI researchers can make credible estimates, experts called for responsible corporate disclosures.

“It’s more critical than ever to address AI’s true environmental cost. We call on OpenAI and other developers to use this moment to commit to full transparency by publicly disclosing GPT-5’s environmental impact,” said University of Rhode Island professor Marwan Abdelatti.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

Explore BBR Holdings (S)’s Fair Values from the Community and select yours

BBR Holdings (S) (SGX:KJ5) First Half 2025 Results

Key Financial Results

• Revenue: S$114.4m (up 1.5% from 1H 2024).

• Net income: S$510.0k (down 97% from 1H 2024).

• Profit margin: 0.4% (down from 17% in 1H 2024).

• EPS: S$0.002 (down from S$0.06 in 1H 2024).

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All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

BBR Holdings (S) shares are down 12% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

Before we wrap up, we’ve discovered 4 warning signs for BBR Holdings (S) that you should be aware of.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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