Straits Trading H1 profit jumps to S$122.6m from S$5.5m

STRONGER contributions from real estate and resources helped The Straits Trading Company post a net profit of S$122.6 million for the first half of this year.

That is roughly 22 times its year-ago net profit of S$5.5 million, according to the mainboard-listed group's results announced on Friday evening.

Earnings per share stood at 30.1 Singapore cents for the six months ended June 30, up from 1.3 cents in the corresponding period last year.

Total revenue increased 62.2 per cent to S$219 million, from S$135 million in the first half of 2020.

Chew Gek Khim, Straits Trading executive chairman, said: "Despite the global pandemic, our group's performance in H1 2021 demonstrated the resilience of our strategy as a conglomerate-investment company with both operations as well as financial investments in real estate, hospitality and resources."

Property revenue grew 18.3 per cent on the year to S$23.5 million during the first half. The real estate segment's higher profit was mainly from fair value gains from the logistics properties portfolio in Australia as well as higher share of profits from a joint venture in South Korea.

Straits Real Estate (SRE), which became a wholly-owned subsidiary this April after the group acquired JL Family Office's 10.5 per cent stake, delivered "a robust performance", Straits Trading said.

Meanwhile, tin mining and smelting revenue climbed 69.8 per cent to S$195.6 million for the half year. Malaysia Smelting Corp's Pulau Indah smelting facility in Port Klang is expected to be fully commissioned by late 2021 or early 2022, Straits Trading said.

"The longer-term outlook for tin remains promising, driven by increasing consumer and industrial demand for electronics," the group added. Tin prices have risen amid soaring demand for tin solder and global supply disruptions.

However, the hospitality segment continued to be affected by the Covid-19 crisis, reporting a slightly higher loss for H1 2021 compared with the year-ago period.

No dividend was declared for the six months ended June 30, as the company does not have a standing practice of declaring dividends for the first half of the financial year.

Shares in Straits Trading fell 0.6 per cent or S$0.02 to finish Friday at S$3.09, before it released its results.