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Manufacturing output in April rose 0.1pc from a year earlier, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed, recovering from the revised 4.3pc decline in March.
The median forecast in a Reuters survey predicted a 3.5pc contraction.
On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production also beat expectations with a 2.4pc rise in April, after declining a revised 2.5pc in March.
The median forecast was for a fall of 1.3pc for April.
The surprise was helped by growth of pharmaceutical output, which grew 10.9pc in April from a year earlier after growing 15.8pc the month before.
Electronics output in April, however, continued to decline, falling at 0.6pc from a year ago after declining 15.1pc in March.