AUTOMATION and telecom solutions provider CSE Global announced a 22.5 per cent drop in net profit to S$8.06 million from S$10.39 million a year-ago in the quarter ended December 31, 2015. Revenue for the period was down 14.6 per cent to S$98.75 million from S$115.69 million one year ago.

For the full year, the company saw a 3.7 per cent drop in net profit to S$34.07 million from S$35.36 million, one year ago. Revenue for the full year was down 1.1 per cent to S$411.95 million from S$416.75 million one year ago. Basic earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter was down 22.4 per cent to 1.56 Singapore cents, from 2.01 Singapore cents one year ago. For full year, EPS was down 3.6 per cent to 6.6 Singapore cents from 6.85 Singapore cents one year ago.

The company is proposing a final dividend of 1.25 Singapore cents per ordinary share and a special dividend of 0.25 Singapore cents per ordinary share. Together with the interim cash dividend of 1.25 Singapore cents per ordinary share distributed last September, CSE will be paying out a total cash dividend of 2.75 Singapore cents per ordinary share for the financial year.

In the fourth quarter, CSE received a strong order intake from greenfield and brownfield projects, totalling S$70.8 million, which take the full year order intake to S$351million. As at end of 2015, order book stood at S$192.7 million.

Lim Boon Kheng, group MD of CSE, said despite the sluggish outlook, the market continued to provide pockets of opportunities for the group's businesses in 2016. "The group will continue to focus on cash generation and look for new growth prospects. Hence, we believe the overall businesses of our major subsidiaries should remain resilient and we are confident that CSE will deliver a positive operating cashflow and profits for FY2016."