Jason Marine full-year earnings soar to S$191,000 on forex movements

JASON Marine Group saw FY2019 revenue dip 8.4 per cent to S$29 million for the year ended March, due to weak demand for its goods in the marine and oil and gas industries, the company announced on Thursday.

The firm's full-year earnings quadrupled to S$191,000 compared to last year, albeit bolstered by foreign exchange movements.

Excluding forex gains and losses, allowance for impairment of other receivables and fair-value loss on derivative financial instruments, net profit would have fallen 26.2 per cent to S$1.2 million for FY2019, as compared to S$1.7 million for FY2018.

Jason Marine has declared a first and final dividend of 0.5 cent per share, unchanged from a year ago.

The company saw some improvement in gross profit margin to 35.1 per cent in FY2019 from 32.3 per cent in FY2018, due to the progress recognition of a major Singapore-based contract in the information communication technology space.

However, the outlook remains dismal. US-China trade tensions may have an impact on the business, while financial performance "will continue to be affected by the uncertainties and developments in the marine and offshore oil and gas industry", the company said in its results statement.

"Soft demand for goods and services coupled with intense market competition will continue to exert pressure on margins," it added.

Shares of Jason Marine last traded at 12 Singapore cents on May 7.