Higher expenses lead to 30% dive in marina developer SUTL's Q1 profit

HIGHER expenses weighed down results for marina developer SUTL Enterprise (SUTL) for its first quarter.

Net profit fell 30 per cent to S$639,000 from the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday.

For the three months ended March 31, revenue grew 4 per cent to S$7.8 million from the previous year, driven by higher sales of goods and services.

However, expenses totalled S$7 million for Q1 2018, up 9 per cent from S$6.4 million a year ago.

Earnings per share fell to 0.74 Singapore cent from 1.05 Singapore cents in the year-ago period.

Net asset value per share edged up to 62.71 Singapore cents as at March 31, from 61.95 Singapore cents three months ago.

SUTL executive director and chief executive officer, Arthur Tay, said: "Although there was an improvement in our top line, our income was impacted by expenses related to our expansion plans including higher headcount, business development activities and professional fees as a result of the projects in our pipeline. Our projects are on track and we look forward to their future contribution to the group's performance."

As at 2pm, SUTL shares were up five Singapore cents or 6.9 per cent at S$0.775.