Koufu's first-half profit nearly quadruples to S$9.9m

INCREASED footfall at its food outlets and a newly acquired business helped Koufu Group's H1 2021 net profit surge to S$9.9 million, almost quadrupling from S$2.5 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue grew 18.8 per cent to S$105.7 million for the six months ended June 30, from S$89 million in the first half of last year.

Earnings per share stood at 1.79 Singapore cents, up from 0.46 cent in H1 2020, said the operator and manager of food courts and coffee shops in a Tuesday filing.

Its top-line improvement was in line with higher contributions from both the outlet and mall management segment as well as the food and beverage (F&B) retail segment.

These were buoyed by an increase in footfall as compared with H1 2020, when sales were significantly affected during Singapore's "circuit breaker".

In the F&B retail segment, the newly acquired traditional snacks and dough products business, Deli Asia, contributed S$5.9 million in revenue.

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Koufu's executive chairman and chief executive officer Pang Lim said: "We are gradually seeing the fruition of our revenue diversification strategy, which has brought on greater resiliency."

Both in-store takeaway and delivery sales also increased due to the dine-in restrictions as part of heightened measures over several periods since April 2021.

Koufu's board declared an interim ordinary dividend per share of one cent for the first six months of 2021, double the 0.5 cent in the year-ago period.

The dividend will be paid on Sept 8, after the books are closed on Aug 25.

The group highlighted its "deep war chest to capitalise on opportunities and offer financial flexibility", given its S$81.2 million in cash and cash equivalents as at June 30, 2021, up from S$76.4 million as at Dec 31, 2020.

The construction of Koufu's integrated facility has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Having obtained the temporary occupation permit in April, the group expects to start operations from the facility progressively from Q4 2021. It will combine the production of bakery products, dim sum snacks and dough products.

Koufu said it has achieved full tenancy for 25 per cent of the total area allocated for tenancy in the integrated facility, where tenants can commence operations from as early as this month. The group also opened a food court in the facility last month.

The facility's remaining space, slated for operational purposes, includes a cloud kitchen and a staff dormitory, which will provide rental income once operational.

Koufu said it is also actively looking to increase the delivery coverage of its "Koufu Eat" app to include more parts of Singapore.

Shares in the mainboard-listed company finished at S$0.65 on Tuesday, up 1.6 per cent or S$0.01, before the results were released.