Bonvests Q1 net profit up 5% as most business segments improve

BONVESTS Holdings' first-quarter net profit increased by 5 per cent as most key business units posted better sales, the developer said on Thursday.

Net profit for the three months ended March 31 was S$7.9 million, or 1.954 Singapore cents per share. Bonvests stock closed at S$1.33 on Thursday before the results were announced.

Revenue rose 2.5 per cent to S$50.9 million.

Profit from the industrial division rose 37 per cent to S$2.3 million due to improvements in its portfolio of contracts and from government grant income. Property rental profit increased by 4.1 per cent to S$4.6 million on higher occupancy rates. Hotel profit, however, slipped 8.3 per cent to S$4.2 million on lower revenues in Zanzibar and Singapore, and from lower margins.

Bonvests expects market conditions to "remain challenging" for its hotel business, and sees stable rental markets in Singapore and Tunis.