Son of Noel Gifts founder assumes managerial role
Wong Pei Ting
KENNETH Wong, the 34-year-old son of Noel Gifts International founder Alfred Wong, has assumed a managerial position in the company.
He was promoted to the role of senior manager for corporate development from Jul 1, the mainboard-listed gifts marketing and property investment company said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Aug 24).
The role is an executive one, and he is responsible for property, rental, and sales, as well as the company’s investment portfolio with the position, the company stated.
Prior to this, he was a management trainee and corporate development manager with the group from 2017, after a short stint at professional services firm BDO as an audit associate.
The latest appointment came as the board are of the view that the younger Wong should be promoted to a managerial position, as defined under the Singapore Exchange’s listing manual, given his work experience and contributions to the group, it said.
According to the disclosure, the younger Wong has no shareholding interest in the group, while his father – the company’s managing director – is a substantial shareholder.
The elder Wong’s daughter, 43-year-old Kim Wong, is also in the business, and a substantial shareholder. She serves as assistant general manager, responsible for developing divisional strategies and plans in line with the group’s overall objectives.
Noel Gifts also released its latest financials on Thursday, which showed its net profit falling 67.8 per cent to S$871,000 in the fiscal second half ended Jun 30, 2023, compared to S$2.7 million in the year ago period.
Revenue for the half year also fell. Its topline was S$10.9 million, down 14 per cent from S$12.7 million in the same period last year.
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For the full FY, its net profit came in at S$225,000, down 92.2 per cent from the S$2.9 million seen in the last FY. This translates to an earnings per share of 0.22 Singapore cent, versus 2.82 cents in the preceding FY.
Full-year revenue fell 10.3 per cent to S$18.5 million, as the company noted that sales in the gift division dropped by S$2.2 million, or 11 per cent. The segment was partially offset by a 13 per cent increase in rental from the property division.
A special dividend of 0.6 Singapore cent per ordinary share has been declared for the financial year. This was lower than last FY’s first and final dividend of 0.3 cent per ordinary share, topped with a special dividend of 1.2 cent per ordinary share.
The dividend’s date payable and record date would be announced later, the company noted.
Shares of Noel Gifts closed flat at S$0.20 before the announcements on Thursday.
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