Metro H2 profit drops 68.4% to S$5.4m

Published Fri, May 27, 2022 · 09:45 AM

PROPERTY player Metro Holdings : M01 0% on Friday (May 27) posted a 68.4 per cent fall in net profit for the second half ended Mar 31, dragged by lower revenue, impairment losses and a lower share of profit from joint ventures.

Net profit for H2 stood at S$5.4 million, compared with S$17 million posted the same period a year ago.

Revenue declined marginally by 1.5 per cent to S$59.7 million from S$60.6 million in H2 FY2021, as higher sales in the retail division partially offset declines in revenue from the property division.

The group’s bottomline for H2 was further weighed down by an impairment loss of S$36.3 million. It accounts for amounts due from associates on co-investments with BentallGreenOak, which were mainly attributed by the group to ongoing China property sector headwinds.

Over the half-year period, Metro also saw a 27.3 per cent decline in the share of profit from joint ventures to S$23.3 million compared with S$32.1 million, as a result of lower contributions from The Crest as well as rental rebates and waivers granted to tenants during China’s recent Covid-19 lockdowns.

Metro’s latest set of half-year results translates to earnings per share (EPS) of 0.6 Singapore cent, down from its H2 FY2021 EPS of 2 cents.

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The board has proposed a final dividend of 2 cents per ordinary share and a special dividend of 1 cent per ordinary share, amounting to 3 cents in total.

The latest set of results brings Metro’s FY2022 net profit to S$23.7 million, representing a 35.5 per cent decline from its FY2021 profit of S$36.8 million as a result of the impairment loss recorded in H2.

Revenue for FY2022 grew 3.3 per cent on year to S$100.5 million from S$97.3 million due to higher contributions from the retail division.

As at 9.26 am on Friday, Metro was trading up 2 per cent or S$0.015 at S$0.755, after the release of the group’s financial results.