Hyflux earnings plunge 58% in Q2

WATER treatment firm Hyflux said on Thursday it would continue to look out for chances to sell off more assets as it posted a sharp drop in its earnings for the second quarter.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2015, dived 58 per cent to S$25.95 million from the previous year. This was in spite of an 18 per cent increase in revenue to S$94.8 million over the same period.

The earnings decline was in part due to a significant drop in "other income" in Q2 year on year. Hyflux did not specifically address this in its statement, but indicated that it had to do with lower disposal gains this year.

Olivia Lum, executive chairman and group CEO, said in a statement the company has continued to grow its presence in the Middle East and North Africa, and "will also continue to explore potential divestment opportunities".

Earnings per share came in at 1.68 cents for Q2, significantly lower than the 6.18 cents in the previous year. Net asset value per share slid to S$0.564 as at June 30, down from S$0.566 as at Dec 31 last year.

The group declared an interim dividend of 0.70 cents per share, unchanged from the previous year.

Hyflux shares were flat at S$0.84 on Thursday before the results were released.