Asiatic Group in the red with $14M full-year loss
SINGAPORE’S Catalist-listed Asiatic Group (Holdings) Ltd swung to a net loss of S$20 million ($14.5 million) for the full year ended March 31 from a net profit of S$923,000 a year ago.
This came on the back of higher costs and expenses, as well as impairment on financial assets, the engineering group said in a regulatory filing on Thursday right after midnight.
Loss per share stood at 1.405 cents, compared with earnings per share of 0.07 cents the year prior. There is no dividend declared f or the year, unchanged from a year ago.
Asiatic Group shares last closed at 0.5 cents on Wednesday, up 25 per cent or 0.1 cents.
Total revenue stood at S$37.7 million, down one per cent from S$38.1 million a year ago. The group’s power related business contributed 61.3 per cent or S$23.09 million to total revenue, up 0.1 per cent from S$23.07 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, its fire-fighting and protection business division contributed 38.7 per cent or S$14.6 million, down 2.8 per cent from S$15.0 million a year ago. It said this business continued to be weighed down by the depressed marine, oil and gas sector.
Cost of sales widened to S$25.9 million from S $24.5 million a year ago due mainly to higher direct operating costs as a result of higher power generat ion of t he power seg ment. This was slight ly of fset by decrease of t he cost of sa les of t he f ire-f ighting and protection segment.
Cambodian operations
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment widened to S$2.6 million, from S$1.9 million a year ago, mainly due to power plant asset’s reduction in residual value in Cambodia.
Other income meanwhile, rose 64.8 per cent to S$402,000, from S$244,000 mainly from sales of fuel in Cambodia to Electricite du Cambodge.
On its outlook, the group said power purchase agreements for its power pla nt s i n Ph nom Pen h a nd Si hanou k v i l le ha s been renewed f or another t hree years.
The group said its fire-fighting and protection business is “expected to remain challenging” in view of the current economy outlook. This is especially in the marine and oil and gas segment where most of its clients operate in.
Its biomass plant in Malaysia is also appealing to the Malaysian government for a tariff increase and extension of tenor of the Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement.