Raffles Education Corporation's Q3 net loss widens to S$4 million

RAFFLES Education Corporation's third-quarter net loss worsened to S$4 million from S$3.7 million in the year-ago period.

The private education provider saw revenue dip 0.2 per cent to S$23.8 million from the previous year.

But it also saw other income fall from S$2.4 million to $1.5 million mainly due to a decrease in foreign exchange gain. Finance costs also increased from S$2.8 million to $3.3 million, thanks to an increase in cost of borrowings and increase in borrowings.

Loss per share narrowed to 0.37 Singapore cents, from a loss per share of 0.39 Singapore cents in the previous year.

The group said that the challenging global education environment, currency volatility and increasing interest rate are impacting the group.

It expects increasing competition, higher manpower costs and a more stringent regulatory environment to negatively impact its operations.

It "will also seek opportunities in new territories", it said.

Raffles Education Corporation's shares finished 0.3 Singapore cent or 1.7 per cent lower at S$0.174 on Tuesday.