Medtecs H1 profit surges to US$38.9m on sales of personal protective apparel

HEALTHCARE player Medtecs International Corporation posted a net profit of US$38.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 - 101 times the US$385,000 net profit a year ago.

This was attributable to higher sales, higher gross profit margins, as well as foreign exchange gains, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday night.

Earnings per share came in at 7.078 US cents for the first half this year, up from 0.07 US cent in the preceding year.

Revenue for H1 2020 jumped to US$162.6 million, nearly five times the US$33.2 million a year earlier. This came on the back of an increase in demand of personal protective apparels due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, which also raised awareness on healthcare products and led to increase in sales from existing customers, Medtecs said.

An interim dividend of 0.85 US cent has been declared for the period, versus no dividend last year. This will be paid on or around Sept 25, following books closure on Sept 11.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Medtecs expects the group's revenue for the second half of the year to exceed that of the first half, due to long-term supply contracts and a steady stream of new orders, it said.

Shares in Catalist-listed Medtecs closed at 97.5 Singapore cents on Tuesday, up 0.5 cent or 0.5 per cent, before its results announcement.