GSS Energy announces new dividend policy

PRECISION engineering firm GSS Energy on Monday said it has adopted a dividend policy of paying dividends no less than 20 per cent of its consolidated profit before tax (excluding non-controlling interests and one-off items), for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

This dividend policy is subject to the availability of retained earnings, the group's financial position, capital expenditure requirements and future expansion or investment plans, among others.

Additionally, this policy is being undertaken to give clearer guidance to shareholders of the potential dividend payout, which will be pegged to the group's financial performance, GSS Energy said.

However, the board may also review the dividend policy and reserves the right to amend, modify or cancel this policy as and when it deems necessary, the company added in its filing to the Singapore Exchange.

No dividend was declared for fiscal year 2017, unchanged from the preceding year.

In February this year, GSS Energy posted a S$4.4 million net profit attributable to owners of the company for FY17, down 68 per cent from S$13.5 million in the year-ago period. Earnings per share stood at 0.88 Singapore cent for FY17, down from 2.70 Singapore cents the previous year.

In particular, the group's precision engineering business posted a net profit after tax of S$9.04 million, compared to S$10.41 million in FY16.

These were offset by a net loss of S$2.5 million for its oil and gas business, and corporate expenses of S$2.33 million. The decrease in profit from its precision engineering segment was due mainly to net exchange losses of S$1.24 million, GSS Energy said.