Sheng Siong sees challenges as it posts higher Q4 profit

SHENG Siong Group guided for a challenging year ahead even as it raised its bottom line by 16.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, roughly in line with expectations.

Net profit for the three months ended December rose to $9.3 million, or 0.67 cent per share, the grocer announced yesterday after the market closed. Revenue gained 5.9 per cent to $170.4 million during the quarter, representing a 0.5 percentage point improvement in net profit margin to 5.5 per cent.

Net profit for the full 2013 slipped 6.6 per cent to $38.9 million, or 2.81 cents per share. This was after taking into consideration Q1 2012's non-core items - a one-time disposal gain of $10.5 million arising from the sale of an old warehouse and an under- provision of prior year's tax amounting to $1.6 million. Excluding those items, 2013 profit would have been 18.6 per cent higher.