As the earnings season progresses, investors are closely watching the latest performance of major companies, especially in the blue chip sector. Most blue chip stocks offer dividends, allowing investors seeking passive income to have a stable income source. Here are four blue chip companies that have increased their dividends during this earnings season.

Mei Yim Industrial Trust (SGX: ME8U)

Mei Yim Industrial Trust (MIT) is an industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio of 56 properties in the United States, 83 properties in Singapore and one property in Japan.

MIT announced its first quarter financial results for FY2025. As of June 30, 2024, MIT's total assets under management reached S$9 billion; MIT's total revenue increased by 2.7% year-on-year to S$175.3 million, and net property income increased slightly by 1.3% year-on-year to S$132.5 million, thanks to gains from the recently acquired Osaka Data Center and new lease and renewal agreements in other property areas; distribution per unit (DPU) increased by 1.2% year-on-year to S$0.0343.

In addition, MIT's overall portfolio occupancy rate remained at 91.9%, up from 91.4% in the previous quarter. MIT also reported an average positive rental reversion rate of 9.2%. The REIT's consolidated leverage ratio is 39.1%, providing ample debt financing space for future value-added acquisitions.

Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68)

Singapore Exchange (SGX), the sole stock exchange operator in Singapore, announced encouraging financial results for the 2024 financial year ending June 30, 2024.

During the period, total revenue increased by 3.1% year-on-year to S$1.2 billion, mainly due to higher revenue from the currency and commodities division and platform and other businesses; net profit increased by 4.7% year-on-year to S$597.9 million.

The exchange increased its quarterly dividend from S$0.085 to S$0.09, bringing the annual dividend from S$0.34 to S$0.36. Revenue from the currency and commodities division rose 22.3% year-on-year to S$322.5 million; derivatives daily average volume (DAV) increased from 1 million contracts in the previous financial year to 1.1 million contracts in FY2024, while the DAV of its over-the-counter (OTC) FX platform surged 46% year-on-year to S$111 billion.

Management hopes to grow group revenue by 6% to 8% annually in the medium term. To achieve this, SGX plans to implement a full ecosystem strategy to strengthen Singapore's stock market and enhance ties with ASEAN through partnerships.

OCBC Bank (SGX: O39)

OCBC is Singapore's second-largest bank, providing a full range of banking, insurance and investment services. The bank announced strong financial results for the first half of 2024.

During the reporting period, net interest income increased 3% year-on-year to S$4.9 billion; coupled with a 15% year-on-year increase in non-interest income, OCBC's total revenue increased 7% year-on-year to S$7.3 billion; the group's net profit increased 9% year-on-year to S$3.9 billion.

Boosted by the results, OCBC raised its interim dividend by 10% to S$0.44 from S$0.40. Although the bank's net interest margin (NIM) fell from 2.28% in the first half of 2023 to 2.23% in the first half of 2024, net interest income was supported by a 5% year-on-year increase in average assets. OCBC's wealth management division performed well, with wealth management income growing 14% year-on-year to S$2.5 billion. Wealth management assets under management rose slightly by 2% year-on-year to S$279 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Ng Betty Kuen said the bank is on track to achieve its 2024 target, and she expects a net interest margin of between 2.2% and 2.25%, with loan growth in the low single digits.

Sembcorp Industries (SGX: U96)

Sembcorp Industries (SCI) is an energy and urban solutions provider with a balanced energy portfolio of 21.2 GW in 10 countries and urban development projects covering 14,000 hectares of land in Asia.

Revenue for the first half of 2024 fell 12% year-on-year to S$3.2 billion, with the main reasons for the decline in revenue being the maintenance shutdown of the Singapore Combined Power Plant and lower wholesale electricity prices. Despite this, net profit increased 2% year-on-year to S$540 million. However, net profit after excluding special items fell 12% year-on-year to S$532 million.

Despite the weak performance, SCI still increased its interim dividend from S$0.05 to S$0.06. In recent years, SCI's renewable energy capacity has grown steadily, from 3.2 gigawatts in 2020 to 12.9 gigawatts in 2023. As of June 2024, SCI's total renewable energy capacity reached 14.4 gigawatts, and management aims to achieve a capacity of 25 gigawatts by 2028.

At the same time, the group also released a strategic plan for its urban development division, aiming to increase the development land area from the current 14,000 hectares to 18,000 hectares by 2028, and the total floor area of ​​industrial properties will also expand from about 130,000 square meters to 1.5 million square meters.