BRC Asia half-year net profit dips 15%, expects customers to be impacted by Covid-19 measures

MAINBOARD-LISTED steel-reinforcement solutions provider BRC Asia net profit fell 15 per cent to S$19.2 million for the half-year ended March 31, 2021, due to lower operating profit margins.

Revenue was up 7 per cent to S$492.7 million due to the S$38.4 million gain from the sale of a development property at Nassim Road as well as higher selling prices uplifted by increases in steel prices.

Excluding the sale of property, revenue for the first half would have been comparable to that of the same period in the previous year.

Earnings per share was 8.08 Singapore cents versus 9.71 cents the previous year. An interim dividend of four Singapore cents was declared for the half year.

For the quarter, net profit was down 5 per cent to S$9.5 million while revenue rose 20 per cent to S$279.3 million. Earnings per share for the quarter was 3.97 Singapore cents versus 4.27 cents in the same period the previous year.

As at 31 March 2021, the group's net assets stood at S$283.1 million with a net asset value per ordinary share of 116.35 Singapore cents, compared with with S$264.6 million and 113.38 Singapore cents respectively, as at September 30, 2020.

Despite the a higher projected construction demand by the Building and Construction Authority, the group expects some of its customers to be more adversely impacted by the current lower efficiency and work productivity, as well as heightened costs due to Covid-19 measures in place.

It will, however, remain focused on mitigating any negative impact through prudence and vigilance in credit control, it said in a press statement.

Said chief executive officer of the group Seah Kiin Peng :"The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be fluid but we remain cautiously optimistic about our business prospects. As general economic activity begins to recover from the severe disruptions seen in 2020, we expect to see broad base improvements to Singapore's construction demand and output in 2021 and beyond."

Shares of BRC Asia ended Wednesday flat at S$1.54.