Yeo Hiap Seng Q4 profit falls 25.6% to S$7.7m

YEO Hiap Seng's (YHS's) net profit for the three months ended Dec 31 fell 25.6 per cent to S$7.7 million from the preceding year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday evening.

Earnings per share sank to 1.33 Singapore cents from 1.79 Singapore cents in the previous year.

For the three months ended Dec 31, revenue dropped 8.2 per cent to S$84 million from the year-ago period.

The decline was mainly due to general market weakness, competitive pricing and sales disruption in Cambodia as YHS's new distributors are still in the process of establishing their reach and building up sales volume, it said.

For the full year, the food and beverage supplier reported a net profit of S$153.7 million, more than four times its earnings from the previous year. However, revenue fell 16.9 per cent to S$340.7 million from the preceding year.

Net asset value per share slipped to 82.91 Singapore cents as at Dec 31, from 86.4 Singapore cents a year ago.

The company has declared a dividend of 2 Singapore cents for the fourth quarter.

YHS shares closed S$0.02 or 1.7 per cent up at S$1.22 on Friday before the announcement.