Lifebrandz stays in the red for fiscal Q3 on higher expenses

LIFEBRANDZ stayed the red for the third quarter ended April 30 despite a 22 per cent year-on-year jump in revenue as it incurred more expenses during the period.

The entertainment group reported a net loss of S$651,000 for the fiscal third quarter following a S$872,000 net loss in the year-ago period. While revenue rose 22 per cent year-on-year to S$380,000, total expenses shot up to S$2.63 million from S$464,000 on the back of a surge in inventories and consumables used, legal and professional fees, and other operating expenses.

"The group will continue to explore business opportunities to position and transform its business profiles and strategic direction," it said.

Lifebrandz had on March 13 announced the completion of a strategic review of its business operations and its decision to cease the F&B club operations in the Clarke Quay area. The affected venues comprise Aquanova, Fenix room, Mulligan's Irish pub (Clarke Quay branch), Playhouse and HopDog.

Having considered the intense competition that the entities have been facing, the trend of diminishing crowd spending and the impact on restricted liquor licensing hours, the board determined that the operations were not sustainable or commercially viable.

The management of the affected subsidiaries has communicated and cooperated with the Ministry of Manpower on the related issues, and has settled the outstanding salaries for February with the employees, Lifebrandz said.