DESIGN Studio Group, a furniture maker, yesterday posted a 50 per cent boost in net profit for the second quarter, thanks to stronger profit margins that came amid lower sales. But it expects the operating environment to remain challenging in the second half of the year. "This is in view of property cooling measures implemented by regulators in the markets in which the group operates, namely, Singapore, Malaysia and China; the tightening of supply of foreign labour in Singapore and the associated increased costs," the company said in a regulatory filing.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30 stood at S$3.98 million, up from S$2.64 million. This translated to earnings of 1.53 Singapore cents per share, up from 1.02 Singapore cents per share.

Revenue for the period fell 26.6 per cent to S$32.6 million, mainly due to fewer hospitality and commercial projects and distribution projects completed during the period. This was partly offset by the higher revenue contribution from the residential property projects.