Vicom posts 9.2% rise in H1 earnings to S$13.1m from higher revenue

INSPECTION and technical testing-services provider Vicom on Thursday (Aug 11) announced earnings of S$13.1 million for the first half ended June, up 9.2 per cent from S$12 million in the year-ago period.

Earnings per share climbed to S$0.037, from S$0.0338 in the same period last year.

The increase comes on the back of higher demand for the group’s services, in tandem with the improving Singapore economy, Vicom said in a bourse filing.

The group added that demand was particularly buoyant for its non-vehicle testing business, which is highly dependent on the recovery of the construction, marine and offshore, oil and gas, and manufacturing sectors.

H1 revenue was 8.5 per cent higher at S$53.3 million, up from S$49.2 million the year before.

Operating profit rose 10.6 per cent to $16.5 million, despite lower Covid-19 government reliefs received in the period.

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The company’s chief executive officer Sim Wing Yew said: “As Singapore emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for VIicom’s services, especially in the non-vehicle testing segment, is improving. But growing inflationary pressures and the threat of recession loom, and we are not out of the woods yet.”

The group has declared an interim dividend of S$0.0332 per share, payable on Aug 26. This is up from the interim dividend of S$0.0304 per share paid out in the corresponding period last year.

Shares of Vicom closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$2.05 on Thursday, before the announcement.