Zico Holdings Q1 profit up 10% to RM1.97m

PROFESSIONAL services company Zico Holdings' net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 grew 10 per cent to RM1.97 million (S$730,024), compared to RM1.79 million, mainly due to higher revenue generated from the group's advisory and transactional services (ATS) as well as its licensing services.

Revenues for the quarter surged 64.89 per cent to RM9.93 million mainly due to higher revenue derived from ATS with the commencement of trust business in Singapore under Zico Allshores Trust, which started in April 2014, the acquisition of a new corporate secretarial business in Singapore under Zico-Stamford Corporate Services, as well as the growth in syariah advisory under Zico Shariah Advisory Services.

The group said business sentiment in its markets continues to be affected by depressed oil prices amidst signs of rising geo-political tension which may have negative impact on different sectors of the markets where its clients operate in. Furthermore, the group added that currency fluctuations in countries where it operate may also impact its operations.

"In the short term, we anticipate there would be challenges arising from a slowdown in a number of the countries we operate in. However, the overall long-term business environment in the Asean market remains broadly positive with the Asean Economic Community looking to be on track by end of 2015," the group noted.

The group also announced that the contributions of the corporate secretarial portfolio of Stamford Law Corporation (now known as Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC) and BACS Private Ltd, which the group acquired in April 2015, will be reflected in the following quarters' results.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2015, earnings per share was 0.74 cents while net asset value per share was 22.9 cents. No dividends were declared for the quarter.

On Monday, Zico Holdings closed trading unchanged at S$0.405.