Yoma Q1 profit up 54% on higher property, tractor sales

YOMA Strategic Holdings' first-quarter net profit rose 54 per cent to S$2.8 million, or 0.16 Singapore cents per share, on the back of higher property and tractor sales.

The Myanmar-based conglomerate is declaring an interim dividend of 0.25 Singapore cent per share for the three months ended June 30.

Revenue increased by 46.8 per cent to S$25.8 million.

Property sales doubled to S$6.2 million from a year-ago S$3.1 million from its share of profits of residential units sold in its StarCity project.

Yoma's heavy equipment unit, which sells New Holland tractors and JCB construction equipment, continued to deliver on a 600-tractor order by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, helping auto and heavy equipment sales to increase to S$11.9 million from S$7.4 million a year earlier. Yoma said it expects to deliver another 312 tractors, and will record about S$8 million of revenue from those sales in the coming months.

The company opened its first KFC store in Mandalay in June, and is targeting 22 stores by March 2018.

Its plan to spin off its tourism assets into an independent platform remains on track pending regulatory approvals.