Rowsley posts 92% drop in Q2 net, pays S$20.6m to expand India business

ROWSLEY Ltd on Wednesday reported a 92 per cent plunge in second quarter net profit to S$516,000.

Earnings were hit by a softer real estate market in Singapore which affected wholly-owned subsidiary RSP Design Consultants (India) Private Limited's contributions to the group for the quarter.

Revenue was 20 per cent lower at S$17.8 million for the three months ended June 30, weighed down by declines in revenue contribution from RSP's architectural, civil and engineering services. But these contractions were partially offset by higher revenue contribution from its master planning services.

Other income in Q2 FY2015 rose 15 per cent to S$6.76 million from $5.89 million a year ago, mainly due to fair value adjustment of S$4.1 million from the re-measurement of the purchase consideration payable to the vendors from whom Rowsley bought its RSP stake in 2013.

Earnings per share for Q2 was 0.012 Singapore cent, down from 0.143 Singapore cent in the same quarter last year.

Said Rowsley CEO Lock Wai Han: "The softening of the Singapore property market has affected our results in the second quarter. But our latest investment in India will help to diversify our earnings base and is part of our overall strategy to grow our overseas income and deliver enhanced, sustainable value to shareholders."

Rowsley on Wednesday also announced its move to buy a 34.72 per cent stake in RSP for S$20.6 million to expand its architectural, engineering and consultancy business in India.