Procurri Q3 profit surges to S$1.4m from S$14,000

MAINBOARD-LISTED enterprise hardware supplier Procurri Corporation's net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30 surged to S$1.4 million from just S$14,000 for the period in the preceding year as its two business segments - lifecycle services and IT distribution - turned in higher contributions.

Therefore, earnings per share leapt to 0.5 Singapore cent from 0.01 Singapore cent in the previous year.

For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue increased 8 per cent to S$55.4 million from S$51.3 million the previous year. Of which, the IT distribution business segment's revenue decreased by 2.4 per cent to S$39.1 million from S$40 million for the year ago period. This was mainly due to lower contribution from the Asia-Pacific, and the Europe (including the UK), the Middle East and African (EMEA) markets for the business, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, revenue from the lifecycle services business segment increased by 45.3 per cent to S$16.3 million from S$11.2 million a year ago, mainly attributable to the better performance from the North and South America and EMEA markets, it said.

Net asset value per share edged up to 23.98 Singapore cents as at Sept 30, from 22.61 Singapore cents nine months ago.

No dividends have been declared or recommended for the current reporting period.

Said Sean Murphy, the group's chairman and global chief executive officer: "While the operating environment remains competitive, the key industry trends include a growing acceptance among IT users of the secondary IT equipment market with more original equipment manufacturers endorsing the sale of certified refurbished or excess equipment, as well as a shift towards open-server architecture with companies and data centre operators increasingly preferring to work with vendor-agnostic service providers, such as Procurri."

Separately, Procurri said due diligence by the unidentified third party that launched a voluntary general offer for the company in September is still ongoing.

In its filing with the Singapore Exchange, it said: "No definitive agreements have been entered into and there is no certainty that the possible transaction will be consummated."

The company will make the necessary announcements to keep shareholders updated, it added.

Procurri Corporation shares closed down S$0.01 or 3.6 per cent at S$0.27 on Thursday.