Creative Technology swings back to profit for Q4 and full year

CREATIVE Technology marked a reversal of fortunes for the fourth quarter ended June 30 and for the full fiscal year, as it returned to profitability amid lower impairment losses and writedowns.

But it still expects to report an operating loss for the current quarter ending Sept 30 as revenue is expected to be comparable.

The producer of digital entertainment products reported a net profit of US$535,000 for the fourth quarter after accounting for lower impairment loss on investments, lower writedown for inventory obsolescence, and a writeback on subcontract accruals. It reported a net loss of US$2.67 million a year ago.

For the full year, net profit was US$2.62 million after accounting for lower writedown and impairment loss and lower foreign exchange losses, following a net loss of US$33.4 million the year before.

But revenue remained under pressure, sinking by 19 per cent to US$17.1 million for the fourth quarter and by 15 per cent to US$84.57 million for the full year.

Creative attributed this to the "uncertain and difficult market conditions" that continued to affect sales of its products. Net sales in the fiscal year shrank by 18 per cent, 12 per cent and 12 per cent in the geographical regions of Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe, respectively.

"For the current financial year, the group expects no significant change in the market conditions and overall market for the group's products remains challenging," Creative said.