Auric's Q2 earnings hit by impairment loss on investment funds

FOOD supplier Auric Pacific on Tuesday reported a 96.3 per cent drop in net profit to S$45,000 for its second quarter ended June 30, 2016, from S$1.2 million a year ago.

This was mostly due to an impairment loss on unquoted investment funds of about S$5.6 million. Otherwise, its various business segments actually mostly reported higher operating profits, it said.

Revenue dipped 0.5 per cent to S$112.3 million, due to lower contributions from Edmontor Group and Food Junction Group. Conversely, its wholesale and distribution as well as manufacturing segments did better than a year ago.

Edmontor Group was affected by lower sales and the closure of underperforming stores in Malaysia and Singapore last year. Its Hong Kong revenue also did not perform as expected as it was hit by the weaker economy which affected consumer spending, it said.

As for the Food Junction Group, revenue declined mainly due to closure of restaurants locally and overseas last year except for two remaining restaurants in Singapore and one in Hong Kong.

"Of the two remaining restaurants in Singapore, the '1 Market' business was scaled down as it was scheduled to close in June 2016 which accounted for the decline in revenue for continuing business. In addition, consumption at the food courts recognised in Q2 2016 was impacted by the earlier occurrence of the Ramadan period," Auric Pacific said.

Earnings per share fell to a mere 0.04 Singapore cent, from 0.96 cent a year ago.

Looking ahead, the group said: "Amidst a backdrop of uncertain global economic environment, the group remains committed to turn around its business by focusing on its core competency and leveraging operational excellence to generate higher value to its stakeholders."