SIIC Environment Q4 profit dips 11.9%

SIIC Environment reported an 11.9 per cent drop in net profit to 150.1 million yuan (S$29.9 million) for the fourth quarter last year, from 170.4 million yuan for the year-ago period.

Earnings per share stood at 5.77 fen for the quarter, down from 6.54 fen a year ago, the water and solid waste treatment company said in a filing on Wednesday night.

Other gains and losses plunged 98.8 per cent on the year to a gain of 1.4 million yuan for the quarter, from a gain of 115.2 million yuan previously. This was largely because the company in 2018 recorded gains on disposal of subsidiaries and from bargain purchase of investment in subsidiaries, but there were no such cases in 2019, SIIC Environment said.

Meanwhile, share of results of associates fell into the red, amounting to a loss of 4.3 million yuan, versus a profit of 1.1 million yuan a year ago, due to lower contribution from associates.

Revenue for Q4 edged up by 5.6 per cent to 1.47 billion yuan, from 1.39 billion yuan a year ago. This was due to higher revenue from all segments except for construction revenue, service income and financial income from service concession arrangements.

A final cash dividend of S$0.01 per ordinary share was recommended for the year, for shareholders' approval at the upcoming annual general meeting. The date payable will be announced later.

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For the full year ended Dec 31, 2019, net profit grew 11.1 per cent to 600.3 million yuan, while revenue rose 12.2 per cent to 5.96 billion yuan.

The improvement in full-year earnings was due mainly to higher water treatment and supply sales volume as well as higher average wastewater treatment price from existing entities during the year.

Despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the group has posted a stable performance and has been able to manage costs, said SIIC Environment chief executive Xu Xiaobing. "As for the municipal utilities sector, some local governments have introduced preferential fiscal and tax policies for epidemic prevention and control," he added.

Shares of SIIC Environment were flat at 26.5 Singapore cents at Wednesday's close, before the results were released.