United Engineers' H1 revenue down 46%

UNITED Engineers on Friday announced a 46 per cent dip in revenue to S$983.4 million for the first six months of this year.

The decline was largely attributed to the absence of revenue contribution from the sale of apartments at Austville Residences, despite higher contribution from Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc (MFLEX).

The decrease in revenue was also attributable to the absence of contributions mainly from the Automotive and MFS Technology businesses, which were divested towards the end of 2014.

As a result of the revenue decrease, gross profit decreased by 19 per cent to S$161.3 million in H1 2015.

However, net profit on continuing operations increased 32 per cent to S$42.5 million in H1 2015 as compared with S$32.1 million in H1 2014 mainly due to positive contribution from MFLEX.

"Following the successful completion of its restructuring plans, MFLEX's turnaround has led to higher profit contribution. However, the completion-of-construction method of accounting for its property development projects continues to create volatility in the Group's performance. We will focus on strengthening the recurring income base from our portfolio of investment properties and other operating businesses to achieve a more sustainable income stream in the longer term," said Norman Ip, chairman of the United Engineers' corporate office.