Federal's Q1 profit surges to S$16m on higher sales

Singapore

ENERGY equipment firm Federal International (2000) posted a 449.1 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to S$16 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

This was on the back of revenue climbing 160.9 per cent to S$57.5 million, largely due to higher contribution from Federal's trading business, which contributed 98 per cent to total revenue.

However, other operating income fell 74.1 per cent to S$1.07 million, due to the absence of a one-off gain of S$3.6 million relating to the disposal of shares in FEE Water (China-PZH) and Federal Environment (Panzhihua).

Earnings per ordinary share for the quarter stood at 1.14 cents, up from 0.21 cent in Q1 2014, while net asset value per share was 5.40 cents. No dividends have been declared.

Looking forward, the group will continue to focus on its core trading business by increasing its products offered and growing its regional footprint in South-east Asia.

Out of its committed sales orders of S$57 million as of March 20, 2015, S$12.4 million has been delivered and billed. As of April 24, 2015, the group also has outstanding orders on hand of S$47.3 million, including S$2.9 million of new orders.

In its land rigging business, the group signed a US$917,000 contact for the drilling of three wells in Indonesia's Aceh province, slated for completion by the end of this year.

Federal's counter closed at 3.8 cents, up 0.2 cent, on Wednesday before results were announced.