UE's Q1 profit surges as Mflex recovers

Singapore

A PREVIOUSLY loss-making subsidiary's return to profitability gave a fillip to earnings for property and technology group United Engineers (UE) in the first quarter, even though revenue was lower after the group sold off some businesses.

Net profit for the three months ended March 31 leapt 226 per cent to S$24.99 million from the previous year, UE said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday. This was even though turnover declined 24 per cent to S$515.26 million in the same period. The jump in profit came partly because its subsidiary Multi-Fineline Electronix (Mflex), which makes printed circuit boards, has turned itself around, UE said. It added that it also wrote back over-provisions for previous years' income tax.