SGX firms' Q1 profits skid almost 40%; Q2 expected to worsen

Almost all sectors saw significant profit drop, especially industrials, healthcare, property

Tay Peck Gek

Published Wed, Jun 3, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

ABOUT one in three locally listed firms chalked up losses for the quarter ended in January to March, with total profits down almost 40 per cent. This was a much poorer showing than last year, when a trade war took its toll on companies. But pundits said the April-to-June quarter corporate results could be uglier.

Of the 155 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange that had issued their quarterly scorecards as at May 29, 53 were in the red and 102 were profitable. Their total earnings were down 38.5 per cent to S$4,896.2 million from a year earlier, according to data compiled by The Business Times.

This was the first set of earnings delivered by listed companies after the novel coronavirus hit Singapore shores in late January. In the corresponding period last year, the total net profit of listed companies increased 4 per cent.…