Jadason posts third straight loss, falls into Watch List

Jadason Enterprises posted a third straight annual loss in 2014, placing the printed circuit board equipment supplier within the criteria for being put on the Singapore Exchange's Watch List.

Jadason on Saturday reported a net loss of S$8.9 million, or 1.24 Singapore cents per share, for the year ended December. That was wider than its year-ago loss of S$5.9 million, or 0.81 Singapore cents per share. Pre-tax loss was S$8.7 million, wider than the S$5.3 million pre-tax loss in 2013.

The exchange will place Mainboard-listed companies on the Watch List if they record pre-tax losses for the past three straight years and have a market capitalisation below S$40 million.

Jadason's market cap was S$32.5 million as at Friday, when the stock closed at 4.5 Singapore cents, the company said.

Companies that are placed on the Watch List have two years to exit the Watch List or face delisting. If the company's market cap is at least S$40 million, the company may apply to be removed from the Watch List if it reports a profit in the most recently completed financial year. If the market cap floor is not achieved, the profitability test will be higher, at a cumulative three-year pre-tax profit of at least S$7.5 million and at least S$1 million of profit for each of those three years, or a cumulative pre-tax profit of at least S$10 million for the last one or two years.

Jadason said equipment and supplies sales fell 24 per cent to S$37.3 million in 2014. The manufacturing and support services business saw a 5 per cent increase in sales, to S$43.5 million, but a poorer product mix and a write-down of inventories sent that segment into a higher operational loss of S$3.8 million.

Jadason expects printed circuit board makers to be cautious in the near term and expects soft demand in the first quarter of 2015.

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