Tee International, Tee Land in red for Q1

INCREASED cost of sales and other expenses pushed Tee International further into the red in its first quarter ended Aug 31, as net loss worsened to S$3.8 million, from a net loss of S$918,000 in the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday.

Loss per share stood at 0.77 Singapore cent, from a loss per share of 0.18 Singapore cent in the preceding year. 

Its topline grew 11.9 per cent to S$78.5 million from the preceding year, from the inclusion of its revenue from the waste and recycling management subsidiaries which were acquired in December 2017.

But its costs of sales also increased 14.2 per cent to S$72 million, mainly from the inclusion of costs from the waste and recycling management subsidiaries. Meanwhile, it also had increased expenses from the inclusion of the waste and recycling management subsidiaries, the option fee forfeited for the aborted purchase of land by TEE Land and unrealised foreign exchange losses.

Its share of results of associates and joint ventures also fell by S$1.3 million, mostly because of the share of losses from TEE Land's associated companies.

Net asset value per share dipped to 16.7 Singapore cents as at Aug 31, from 17.6 Singapore cents three months ago. Its real estate arm TEE Land fell into the red with a net loss of S$2.4 million, from net profit of S$22,000 in the year-ago period. It recorded a loss per share of 0.53 Singapore cent, from earnings per share of less than 0.01 Singapore cent in the year-ago period.

For the three months ended Aug 31, revenue climbed 31.7 per cent to S$34.2 million from the preceding year, from development projects like The Peak @ Cairnhill I (where sale of nine units on deferred payment scheme was completed in 1Q FY2019), 24One Residences and Rezi 35. Cost of sales correspondingly increased by S$9.5 million or 43.5 per cent.

Net asset value per share for TEE Land dipped to 33.3 Singapore cents as at Aug 31, from 33.9 Singapore cents three months ago.

"The business landscape remains challenging and uncertain," the parent company said in its announcement. The engineering business has an outstanding book order of S$304 million to-date, while the infrastructure business "continues to expand steadily while building up its capabilities through strategic investments and partnerships". For TEE Land, the property market conditions "remain challenging" following cooling measures. 

"While the Group prepares its new development property sites to be launched in FY2019, it will continue to assess the market situation and take appropriate steps to refine its sales strategy where necessary," it said. It "remains cautious when seeking opportunities to acquire new land sites".

Tee International shares closed S$0.003 or 1.6 per cent lower at S$0.187. TEE Land shares finished S$0.006 or 3.5 per cent down at S$0.165 on Friday.