OSIM drops interim dividend after Q1 earnings dive

WEAKER sales and cost pressures from TWG Tea took a toll on first-quarter earnings for lifestyle products group OSIM International.

Net profit for the three months ended March 31 plummeted 42 per cent from the previous year to S$7.84 million, it said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday after the market closed.

This came on the back of a 7.7 per cent drop in revenue to S$138.3 million year-on-year, which the group said was mainly due to an "overall weaker environment".

"Markets remain soft and the challenge will be to maintain margins amid rising fixed cost pressure. Due to prolonged soft market conditions, we will also adopt a cautious approach to invest for growth and continue to rationalise unprofitable stores," it said in its statement.

Earnings per share for Q1 were 1.06 Singapore cents, down from 1.75 Singapore cents the previous year.

OSIM declared no interim dividend in the quarter, compared to the one-cent interim dividend in the year-ago period.

The group's net asset value per share was 51 Singapore cents as at March 31 this year, unchanged from Dec 31 last year.

OSIM fell half a cent to close at S$1.39 on Tuesday before its results were released.