Aoxin Q&M H2 loss narrows to 1.2m yuan despite revenue decline

CATALIST-LISTED Aoxin Q&M Dental Group 1D4 on Wednesday (Feb 23) said its net loss narrowed to 1.2 million yuan (S$255,177) for its second half ended Dec 31, 2021, from 1.6 million yuan a year ago.

This is despite a revenue fall of 6.9 per cent to 77.9 million yuan in H2, from 83.7 million yuan a year earlier, mainly due to a decrease in revenue from the distribution of dental equipment and from its supplies segment.

However, the decline was partially offset by an increase in revenue from its primary healthcare segment, due to an increase in patients from key hospitals in Shenyang and Dalian.

Loss per share stood at 0.31 fen for the half year, narrowing from a loss per share of 0.43 fen a year ago.

In the half-year period, the company had registered lower costs in areas including consumables and dental supplies, dental equipment and supplies and laboratory services.

No dividend was declared for the half year, unchanged from a year ago. The company said it was "conserving cash for working capital needs".

For the full year, net loss narrowed to 7.3 million yuan from 12.1 million yuan a year ago, while revenue rose 20.8 per cent on year to 160.2 million yuan.

The company, which operates dental centres in China, noted that its net loss for FY2020 would have been 18.4 million yuan, if not for waivers for social security insurance contributions provided by the Chinese government amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aoxin Q&M's deputy chief executive Ryan San said the group had been operating in a challenging environment, and had been "severely impacted" by the recurring lockdowns of entire cities in China.

"We are keeping a close watch on the evolving Covid-19 situation in China, while managing our costs with strict discipline," San said.

In November, the company also acquired a 49 per cent stake in Singapore medical technology company Acumen Diagnostics, which offers Covid-19 testing through polymerase chain reaction tests.

San expects the acquisition will improve the profitability and cashflow of the group, adding that "with Acumen Diagnostics' expertise in research and development and medical diagnostics, we will be able to play a vital role in support of the Singapore government's strategy of living with Covid-19".

Shares of Aoxin Q&M closed up S$0.005 or 2.3 per cent at S$0.22 on Tuesday.

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