Oxley’s H2 loss deepens to S$83.4 million on lower revenue, higher finance costs

MAINBOARD-LISTED property developer Oxley Holdings : 5UX 0% sank further into the red in the second half of the financial year ended Jun 30, 2023, with losses deepening to S$83.4 million from S$20.3 million in the same period the year before.

Revenue for the half-year fell by 52 per cent to S$202 million, from S$419.5 million a year ago.

This was mainly due to lower revenue being recognised for development projects in Singapore, the group said in a bourse filing on Monday (Aug 28). This came as “substantial revenue was recognised prior to FY2023, partially offset by higher revenue recognition from Oxley Towers KLCC in Malaysia and hotel operations”, it added.

The group’s finance costs for the half-year increased by 26 per cent to S$75.5 million, from S$60 million in the corresponding year-ago period. This was mainly due to higher interest rates from bank borrowings, the group said.

Loss per share for H2 FY2023 stood at S$0.0195, widening from the group’s loss per share of S$0.0048 a year ago.

For the full year ended Jun 30, 2023, Oxley recorded a net loss of S$85 million, compared to a net profit of S$7.3 million the year before. This came on the back of lower gross profit attributable to lower revenue and higher finance costs on borrowings, the group said.

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Full-year revenue slipped 31 per cent to S$640.4 million. Loss per share stood at S$0.0196, from earnings per share of S$0.008 a year ago.

No dividend has been recommended for FY2023. This is to preserve the group’s working capital, it said. A final dividend of S$0.0025 per share was declared in the year-ago period.

Ching Chiat Kwong, Oxley’s executive chairman and chief executive officer, said that barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group is “cautiously optimistic” about the year ahead.

He noted that macroeconomic conditions remain challenging in 2023, with “geopolitical instability and inflation impacting both domestic and global growth, in the current high-interest-rate environment”.

The group’s focus will be on overseas projects, with all of its Singapore development projects set to be completed by 2023.

“We believe the hotel performance will continue to grow in tandem with tourism recovery in Singapore,” Ching said.

Shares of Oxley closed at S$0.095 on Monday, up 1.1 per cent or S$0.001, before the results were announced.