Ley Choon back in black, posts Q3 net profit of S$218,000

CATALIST-LISTED Ley Choon Group Holdings, which does underground utilities infrastructure construction and road works, is back in the black in the third quarter.

It achieved the feat on a higher profit margin, as well as the reversal of impairment losses on trade receivables, thanks to bad debt recovered, according to results released on Wednesday.

Ley Choon reported a net profit of S$218,000 for the three months to Dec 31, 2019, reversing the net loss of S$914,000 in the same period the year before. That was even as revenue fell by 10 per cent year-on-year to S$23.6 million on lower turnover from pre-mix sales.

Gross profits increased on lower material costs, which Ley Choon attributed to "less consumption of materials for certain ongoing project mix" in its unaudited financial statements.

Earnings per share for the quarter came to 0.02 Singapore cent against a loss per share of 0.08 cent in the year before. Meanwhile, net asset value stood at 1.84 Singapore cents a share against 1.96 cents as at March 31, 2019.

For the nine months, Ley Choon's net losses narrowed from S$3.76 million to S$512,000, while revenue was down 5.1 per cent to S$71.2 million.

The group said in its outlook statement that it will bid for public sector projects "in view of the strong demand" in that space. Its unfulfilled order book was reported to be S$123.8 million.

No dividend was recommended, unchanged from the year before.

Ley Choon shares shed 0.1 Singapore cent or 6.67 per cent to S$0.016 on Wednesday before the results were announced.