Mary Chia narrows fiscal 2019 loss to S$2.7m

CATALIST-LISTED Mary Chia Holdings has narrowed its net loss for the full year ended March 31 to S$2.7 million, from S$6.0 million a year ago, due to a one-time gain on a property sold last year, offset by loss of rental income from the property.

Loss per share narrowed to 1.64 Singapore cents, from 3.58 cents a year ago, the slimming services chain said on Thursday in a regulatory filing just before midnight.

There is no dividend declared for the quarter, unchanged from a year ago, due to the intention to conserve cash flow for expansion and rebranding efforts, the group said.

Shares of the company closed flat at 3.6 Singapore cents on Thursday.

Revenue for the year fell 2.5 per cent to S$8.9 million, from S$9.1 million a year ago, mainly from the S$900,000 loss of rental income from the 48, 49 and 50 Mosque Street property which it sold in March 2018.

This was partially offset by the direct selling of Daily Essence and Cordyzymes Supreme Essence products - house brands of its subsidiary Organica International Holdings. The group's direct selling segment saw revenue almost tripling to S$1.4 million, from S$495,000 a year ago. 

Traditional segments such as its beauty, slimming and spa treatment for men and women also experienced increases in revenue. For the women's segment, it increased 10 per cent to S$7.3 million, from S$6.6 million a year ago. Revenue for the men's segment increased 47 per cent to S$1.0 million, from S$690,000 a year ago.

The group's other income was also 11 times that of the S$5.1 million a year ago from S$445,000, due to the recognition of a one-time gain of S$4.9 million from the disposal of the Mosque Street property, offset by certain decrease in other income.

Mary Chia also saw a decrease in finance costs to S$100,000, from S$1 million a year ago, due to the repayment of bank borrowings of S$28.9 million relating to the sold property.

On outlook, the group expects the operating environment in the segments of beauty, slimming and spa treatment for men and women to "remain challenging".

It will leverage its 40-year-old brand name to increase its market presence by looking for retail locations with good consumer traffic slow and affordable rentals to open new outlets. On the cost front, it will "continue to be vigilant and exercise prudence" in cost control.

"The group is undergoing a rebranding exercise to keep the brand continuously fresh and strengthen market positioning with new millennials while not forsaking traditional and loyal customers," it added.