Yongnam Holdings FY2019 net loss widens to S$53.1m

YONGNAM Holdings on Friday posted a net loss of S$53.1 million for the year ended Dec 31, widening from a net loss of S$51 million a year ago.

An impairment charge on a trade receivable, operational restructuring costs and loss on disposal of strutting assets contributed to the higher loss, which would have been about S$19.6 million less if those items were excluded.

The steelmaker's revenue grew 27.1 per cent to S$205.1 million from S$161.4 million previously, on the back of higher contributions from its specialist civil engineering and design and build business segments.

Revenue contribution from specialist civil engineering projects rose 58.5 per cent to S$101.8 million on higher contributions from Singapore Changi Terminal 5 and infrastructural projects in Australia.

Revenue from design-and-build projects more than doubled to S$26 million from S$11.1 million in FY2018, mainly due to contributions from a four-storey headquarters with mezzanine offices and a two-storey production facility located in Tampines Industrial Crescent.

The gains were partially offset by a 13.4 per cent drop in revenue contribution from structural steelwork projects to S$70.7 million. This followed the completion of Changi Jewel, Outram Community Hospital and Evonik methionine plant on Jurong Island at the end of FY2018.

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Loss per share was 10.15 Singapore cents versus loss per share of 9.76 cents a year ago.

The group's order book stood at S$405 million as at Dec 31, 2019, compared to S$366 million a year ago. It is also actively pursuing approximately S$1.3 billion of infrastructure and commercial contracts in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

"Amid the uncertain economic outlook exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore and regionally, the group will prudently tap opportunities brought about by Singapore's pipeline of public sector infrastructure and tender for selected commercial projects," said CEO Seow Soon Yong.

Some of these include major contracts for the North-South Corridor, Changi Airport Terminal 5 development works, Jurong Regional MRT Line and Cross Island Line, and commercial projects such as the Marina Bay Sands expansion, he said.

Yongnam shares closed up 0.1 cent or 0.7 per cent to S$0.144 on Friday before the results were announced.