Second Chance posts 8.9% rise in H2 earnings to S$10.4 million

MAINBOARD-LISTED company Second Chance Properties : 528 0% posted a net profit of S$10.4 million for the second half of its financial year ended Aug 31, 2023, up 8.9 per cent from the S$9.6 million in the year-ago period.  (*see amendment note below)  

Revenue inched up marginally by 0.3 per cent year on year to S$27.1 million. 

Earnings per share stood at 1.13 cents in H2, from 1.04 cents in the prior year. 

This brings the group’s profit for the full financial year to S$19.7 million, 38.5 per cent higher than the previous year’s S$14.2 million, even as revenue fell 2.8 per cent to S$41.9 million, from FY2022’s S$43.1 million. (*see amendment note below)  

Earnings per share for FY2023 came in at 2.12 cents, from 1.66 cents a year ago.

The board has proposed a final dividend of 0.55 cent per share, around half of the one cent per share dividend in the previous year. 

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In a bourse filing on Monday (Oct 30), Second Chance noted that topline decline for FY2023 was primarily due to lower contributions from its gold and property segments. Revenue from the group’s gold business dropped 18.4 per cent year on year to S$18.9 million in FY2023. Revenue from property rentals fell 36.2 per cent on year to S$2.8 million. 

There was also a realised profit of S$5.4 million in FY2023 from the disposal of a few equity instruments held by the group. 

As at Aug 31, Second Chance reported a negative working capital of S$53.1 million, from S$42.5 million in the previous year. “This was because the group utilised short-term borrowing facilities in order to benefit from lower interest rates,” it said. 

Going forward, Second Chance believes its gold and apparel businesses will maintain their profitability, while its rental income will continue decreasing due to the sale of several investment properties. 

Meanwhile, dividend income is expected to fall as the group downsizes its existing investment portfolio.

The counter closed flat at S$0.245 on Monday, before the results announcement.

* Amendment note: An earlier version of this article stated that Second Chance posted a net loss of S$3.7 million in H2. This was the company’s total comprehensive loss for H2, not its net profit/loss.