Halcyon Agri posts Q4 net loss of US$7.4m on poor economic outlook, falling rubber prices

FALLING rubber prices and a decline in global macroeconomic sentiment dampened results for rubber supplier Halcyon Agri Corporation in its fourth quarter ended Dec 31.

It sank into the red, chalking up a net loss of US$7.4 million, compared with a net profit of US$11.4 million in the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday.

For the three months ended Dec 31, revenue rose 5.1 per cent to US$538.3 million from the year-ago period. The growth in revenue was due to a 15.5 per cent increase in sales volume during the period, but was partially offset by lower revenue per tonne, it said. Its gross profit per tonne in Q4 2018 was US$45, compared with US$90 in Q4 2017.

It posted a loss per share of 0.46 US cent, from earnings per share of 0.72 US cent in the previous year.

For the full year, Halcyon Agri posted a net loss of US$8.5 million, from a net profit of US$31 million in the previous year. Revenue slipped 0.8 per cent to US$2.14 billion from the preceding year.

The drop in revenue was mainly due to a decrease in revenue per tonne in line with rubber market price movements, it said. The decrease was partially offset by higher sales volume, mainly contributed by additional volume from newly acquired or incorporated subsidiaries.

It posted a loss per share of 0.53 US cent for FY18, compared with earnings per share of 1.95 US cents in the previous year.

Net asset value per share shrank to 46.14 US cents as at Dec 31, from 52.24 US cents a year ago. No dividends were declared for the year, while one US cent per share was paid out in FY17.

Halcyon Agri shares ended unchanged at S$0.46 on Thursday.