Cortina's Q4 bottom line hit by softer economy

CORTINA Holdings on Thursday reported a 79 per cent drop year on year in net profit to S$1.4 million for Q4 FY16 ended March 31, 2016, amid a tough environment for the retail industry, while revenue slumped 24 per cent to S$93.55 million.

"FY2016 continued to be a challenging year for luxury retail industry," said Cortina. "The reduction in revenue and profit in the final quarter was mainly due to the subdued global economy."

For the full year, net profit was down 45 per cent at S$8.39 million and revenue was 9 per cent lower at S$367.26 million.

However, the sales margin for the full year improved by 1.2 percentage points to 22.8 per cent, from 21.6 per cent in the previous year.

Operating expenses rose 5.5 per cent to S$70.4 million, largely due to higher rental expenses as a result of expansion and opening of new boutiques.

A final dividend of two Singapore cents per share has been proposed.

"The board believes the slowing trend will continue into financial year 2017. However, planned investments will be ongoing and the group remains cautious in reviewing future expansion and new opportunities," warned the group.