Jason Marine profit up as operations revamp pays off

MARINE electronics systems integrator Jason Marine Group's realignment of its operations has paid off as it ended its financial full year with a surge in revenue and earnings.

Its share price soared 7.2 cents, or 40 per cent, yesterday - fuelled probably by the better results and accompanying higher proposed dividend - to end trading at 25 cents.

For the 12 months ended March 31 (FY2014), the group posted net profit of $2.8 million, more than five times the $517,000 in the preceding year. Earnings per share came to 2.62 cents, against 0.49 cent previously. Jason Marine proposed a total dividend of one cent per share for FY2014, comprising a first and final dividend of 0.2 cent (unchanged from FY2013) and a special dividend of 0.8 cent per share.

Revenue rose 32.4 per cent to $50.2 million on the back of better results from all its three business segments.

This was led by sale of goods, which rose 39.3 per cent to $38.3 million. Revenue from rendering of services climbed 13.8 per cent to $8.7 million and airtime revenue increased 15.9 per to $3.2 million.

Said Jason Marine executive chairman Joseph Foo: "Having realigned our operations into three main divisions, we were able to rapidly intensify efforts to improve both sales and productivity across the board."

The group expects the operating environment to remain challenging due to keen competition, a shortage of skilled manpower and rising costs.

"We are looking to sharpen our competitive edge and extend our market reach, both geographically and segmentally," Mr Foo said. The group will also focus on boosting its capabilities, especially in technology and what it can offer customers, he added.