Boustead Projects posts 30% rise in H1 net profit to S$7.7 million

MAINBOARD-LISTED Boustead Projects reported on Thursday (Nov 10) a 30 per cent increase in net profit for its first half, mainly due to higher interest income and a higher share of profit of associates and joint ventures.

Net profit for the six months ended Sep 30 rose to S$7.7 million from S$5.9 million in the year-ago period. On a per-share basis, earnings rose to S$0.024 from S$0.019 in H1 FY2022.

The group’s overall revenue fell 34 per cent on year to S$117.7 million, mainly due to lower revenue contributions from the engineering & construction business, in line with a leaner order backlog of projects carried forward at the end of FY2022.

This was partially offset by higher revenue contributions from the group’s real estate business, owing to higher rental income from growing real estate activities in Vietnam, Boustead said in a bourse filing.

Wong Yu Wei, executive deputy chairman of Boustead Projects, said: “Overall, we delivered a respectable performance for H1 FY2023, amid the challenging and complex operating environment, where global inflation and tighter local conditions for manpower, materials and supply chain pose potential adverse risks.”

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

He added that the progressive clearing of projects secured pre-pandemic will free up resources that will enable the group to take on new projects in high value-added sectors.

Boustead’s current order backlog stands at S$452 million, having secured S$320 million in new contracts since the start of FY2023.

Net asset value per share as at Sep 30 stood at S$1.265, up from S$1.234 a year earlier. No dividend was declared, unchanged from a year earlier as it is not the company’s practice to declare an interim dividend.

Shares of Boustead Projects closed 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 higher at S$0.845 on Thursday, before the earnings announcement.