CosmoSteel Q4 profit plunges amid challenging market

COSMOSTEEL Holdings posted a 49.3 per cent drop net profit to S$1 million on a 41.6 per cent decline in revenue to S$24.2 million for the fourth quarter ended Sept 30, 2015.

The piping system component supplier and distributor's earnings per share for Q4 was 0.37 cent, compared with 0.76 cent a year ago.

Full-year net loss was S$0.9 million compared to a profit of S$5.5 million last year.

CosmoSteel chief executive Ong Chin Sum described FY2015 as a trying time. "We expect our revenue and profit margins to remain under pressure in FY2016," he said.

Revenue generation will continue to be challenging amid the weak oil market resulting in fewer projects available in the market, CosmoSteel said.

Its chief executive maintained that "our business fundamentals remain sound" and that as a result, "we are rewarding our shareholders with dividends in FY15 despite our maiden loss in the group's history".

The company declared a dividend per share of 0.5 cent.

Shares in CosmoSteel last closed at 13.5 cents, up 0.3 cent.