Raffles Education sinks deeper into the red with S$15.2m Q2 loss

HIGHER depreciation expenses and costs related to the closures of its loss-making colleges in Sydney and Beijing dragged Raffles Education deeper into the red for its second quarter.

For the three months ended Dec 31, net loss widened to S$15.2 million, from a loss of S$1.4 million for the year-ago period, the private education provider announced on Wednesday night.

This translated to a loss per share of 1.1 Singapore cents, from a loss of 0.14 Singapore cent per share a year earlier.

No dividend has been declared for the quarter, while revenue rose 3 per cent to S$25.3 million.

The group also posted an increase in depreciation and amortisation expenses to S$3.4 million for the quarter from S$2.6 million, as the construction of its Malaysian unit was completed late last year, Raffles Education said.

In addition, costs related to the closures of Raffles College Pty Ltd in Sydney, and Raffles College Beijing amounted to a combined total of S$8.2 million.

For the half-year, net loss widened to S$16.1 million from a loss of S$7.3 million a year earlier, while revenue was relatively stable at S$48.7 million.

Looking ahead, Raffles Education noted that the challenging global education environment, currency volatility, rising interest rates and increasing competition will continue to impact the group.

Therefore, it will continue to "restructure its operations for better focus and efficiency", Raffles Education said.

As at 10.08am on Thursday, the counter was trading at 9.8 Singapore cents, down 2.97 per cent, or 0.3 Singapore cent.