Lion Asiapac Q4 profit plunges 99% in absence of disposal gain

LION Asiapac reported a 99 per cent fall in fourth-quarter net profit to S$85,000, down from S$15.67 million for the year-ago period, mainly due to the absence of a gain from the disposal of a subsidiary in Yangzhou.

Earnings per share for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2018, was 0.1 Singapore cent, down from 19.32 Singapore cents for Q4 FY17.

Fourth quarter turnover soared 89 per cent to S$4.36 million on higher volume of lime sales, but margins from the business remained depressed by high production costs.

In the absence of a one-time gain of S$19.6 million from the disposal of the Yangzhou subsidiary, full year net profit plunged 92 per cent to S$1.28 million, down from S$15.55 million for FY17.

Lion Asiapac declared a first and final dividend of 0.5 Singapore cent per share for FY18.

The diversified investment holding company said it will continue to implement cost containment measures as cost pressure continues to persist.

In addition, it said it has resumed trading in steel consumables on the back of improvement in Malaysia's steel industry.

Lion Asiapac closed at 50.5 Singapore cents on Thursday, down 0.5 Singapore cent or about one per cent.