CWT profit slips 3%; extra 6 cent per share dividend declared

LOGISTICS provider CWT posted a 3 per cent decline in net profit to S$108.9 million, or 18.14 Singapore cents per share, in financial year 2015 amid a drop in naphtha volumes and a provision for the Tianjin blasts.

CWT is nevertheless declaring a second interim dividend of six Singapore cents per share. Including a three Singapore cents per share payout in August 2015, CWT's total payout for the year will be nine Singapore cents per share, more than double the four Singapore cents per share total payout in 2014.

Revenue fell 30 per cent to S$9.9 billion in the year ended Dec 31, 2015, as the company experienced lower naphtha trading volumes and a general drop in commodity prices. But CWT managed to turn in a 2 per cent increase in gross profit on the strength of its financial services, freight logistics and commodity marketing businesses.

The company also made provisions for an estimated net loss of S$8.8 million as a result of the the August 2015 blasts in Tianjin.

"We continue to strengthen our balance sheet amid market turmoil throughout the past year," CWT group chief executive Loi Pok Yen said in a statement. "We took a prudent conservative approach of not expanding aggressively in 2015 and were rewarded with a decent financial performance. In turn, we are rewarding investors for their patience with a much higher dividend payout as we return excess cash."