BRC Asia's Q2 profit soars to S$5.4m

Singapore

STEEL-BAR seller BRC Asia's second-quarter net profit soared to S$5.4 million, eight times its S$661,000 profit for the year-ago period, which excluded a S$313,000 gain after tax from discontinued operations.

The higher profit for the quarter to March 31, 2019 was attributed to higher revenue generated from the sales order book of steel fabricator Lee Metal Group - which BRC Asia bought in July 2018 - and better buying power for bulk purchase of raw material.

The group also adopted new dividend policies that will see it paying out a target annual dividend of not less than 30 per cent of net pro…