Synagie sinks deeper in the red with S$3.4m loss for H1 despite revenue doubling

HOMEGROWN e-commerce player Synagie Corporation has sunk deeper into the red, posting a net loss of S$3.4 million for the half year ended June 30, 2018, from a net loss of S$1.2 million in the year ago period.

The startup, whose clients operate mostly in the body, beauty and baby (BBB) sector, attributed the loss to increased administrative expenses, and one-off expenses like its initial public offering expenses and professional fees related to the acquisition of its insurtech business - 1Care Global - which weighed on its bottom line.

Therefore, loss per share deepened to 1.31 Singapore cents, from a loss per share of 0.44 Singapore cent in the year-ago period.

Had the one-off expenses been excluded, net loss for H1 2018 would have been S$1.7 million.

Revenue for Synagie, which listed on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) Catalist board on Aug 8, more than doubled from S$3 million for the half year ended June 30, 2017 to S$6.9 million for H1 2018.

The rise in revenue was due to an increase in online sales volume, an increase in the number Synagie's brand partners and new revenue contribution from the insurtech business, the group said in an SGX filing late on Wednesday.

Net asset value per share stood at one Singapore cent as at June 30, compared to 0.06 Singapore cent as at Dec 31, 2017.

Said Clement Lee, executive director and chief executive officer of Synagie: "We continue to see strong revenue growth in H1 2018. Our recent initial public offering allows us to fast-track our growth plans and capitalise on the exponential growth of the e-commerce market in South-east Asia. We will continue to bring in new brand partners, both multinational corporations and increasingly, more small and medium enterprises."

Synagie Corporation shares finished unchanged at S$0.19 on Wednesday.