Venture's Q4 profit falls 24.7% but full-year earnings match street estimates
VENTURE Corp's net profit fell 24.7 per cent to S$107.7 million in the fourth quarter, on less research and development work undertaken for customers compared to the same period a year ago.
Widening the gap was the absence of a one-off gain of S$11.3 million from Venture's disposal of its stake in Fischer Tech in 2017.
Revenue in the three months ended Dec 31 was S$905.9 million, down 16.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier.
Net profit margin in the fourth quarter was 11.9 per cent, down from 12.1 per cent in the same period a year earlier (excluding the one-off disposal gain) but better than the 10.6 per cent recorded over the entire 2018.
In 2018, the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firm made a full-year net profit of S$370.1 million, down 0.7 per cent from 2017, broadly in line with street estimates.
Excluding the one-off gain of S$11.3 million in 2017, net profit would have risen 2.4 per cent year-on-year.
A final dividend of 50 Singapore cents per share was declared, down from a final dividend of 60 Singapore cents last year.
Including a first-ever interim dividend of 20 Singapore cents paid in September, total dividend for FY2018 will amount to 70 Singapore cents per share, representing a 16.7 per cent increase over the prior year.
Fourth-quarter earnings per share was 37.5 Singapore cents, up from 50.6 Singapore cents in the fourth quarter last year.
Net asset value per share was S$8.16 at the end of 2018, up from S$7.61 at the end of 2017.
The group said on its outlook: "There have been increased interest from businesses looking to relocate production to South-east Asia due to the US-China trade war. This is expected to present new business opportunities for the group."
The counter closed three Singapore cents or 0.19 per cent lower at S$16.12 on Friday before results were announced after market close.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Companies & Markets
Electronic Arts forecasts annual bookings below estimates as gamers cut spending
Wynn Resorts quarterly results beat estimates on strength in Macau business
Gold prices hold ground as traders eye US Fed cues
Amazon’s AWS puts another S$12 billion into its Singapore cloud infrastructure
UG Healthcare fully acquires German subsidiary for 16.9 million euros
SGX securities turnover jumps 37% in April; derivatives activity continues to gain ground