Cordlife swings into the black on non-operating gains

CORDLIFE Group swung into a second-quarter profit of S$9.6 million, or 3.71 Singapore cents per share, as financial gains offset a decline in operating earnings.

Cordlife, which runs a cord blood bank, posted a net loss of S$3.0 million in the year-ago period. For the six months to December 2015, net profit stood at S$16.9 million, up from a S$6.5 million year-ago loss.

Revenue increased by 2 per cent to S$14.5 million during the quarter, but operating profit before tax fell 33.8 per cent to S$706,000.

The company sold shares in China Cord Blood Corp and convertible notes issued by China Cord Blood during the quarter. Those transactions led to Cordlife recognising fair value gains on its investment in China Cord Blood, including a S$7.3 million gain on fair-value change in derivatives compared to a S$4.7 million loss a year earlier.

Cordlife said that it expects its core business to remain profitable for fiscal 2016.