SingPost Q2 earnings dip by 9.5% in the absence of previous one-off gain

Earnings slipped in the second quarter for Singapore Post (SingPost), despite higher turnover.

Net profit clocked in at S$28.47 million, or 9.5 per cent lower than the same period last year, although underlying net profit - absent exceptional items - ticked up by 1.9 per cent to S$27.58 million.

This came on the back of a 10.2 per cent increase in revenue to S$354.7 million - led by growth in the postal and logistics segments.

Logistics contributed the biggest chunk to turnover, rising by 7.6 per cent to S$165.9 million,

Meanwhile, postal revenue grew by 16.9 per cent to S$148.3 million - largely thanks to more cross-border e-commerce deliveries, such as those from China's Alibaba Group, which owns the Taobao marketplace.

This growth helped to offset a decline in revenue from domestic mail, especially as bills and other statements continue to be sent electronically.

Revenue from SingPost's e-commerce segment slipped by 0.8 per cent to S$63.48 million because of the departure of two large customers from its TradeGlobal service provider arm.

Earnings per share dipped from 1.28 Singapore cents to 1.09 Singapore cents.

An interim dividend of 0.5 Singapore cent a share was declared, to be paid on Dec 8 - half the size of the dividend of one Singapore cent a share for the same period the year before.