SINGAPORE (May 24): SingHaiyi Group, diversified real estate company, reported a 70.7% fall in 4Q18 earnings of $6.5 million from a year ago on lower other income.

For the full FY18, earnings came in 3.7% higher to $32.3 million.

In 4Q18, revenue soared to $27.5 million compared to $8.2 million a year ago, arising mainly from the revenue recognised for the group’s completed EC and private condo project, The Vales and City Suites.

The lower rental income was mainly attributable to ongoing Asset Enhancement Initiative (AEI) programme underwent by TCM in US.

Cost of sales increased by $15 million year-on-year, in line with the increase in property development income as mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Gross profit margin decreased by 20.8 ppt year-on-year, attributed mainly to the change in geographical revenue mix as more revenue from property development with a lower profit margin was recognised in 4Q18.

Other income decreased by 54.5% to $13.9 million mainly due to the absence of one-off gain from the disposal of associate company and other investments in relation to the 20% equity interest in Perennial Somerset Investors of approximately $30.5 million.

This was offset by the distribution income of $1.3 million and the writeback of allowance of a diminution in value of the development project City Suites of $12.5 million.

As at March 31, cash and cash equivalents for the group stood at $194 million, up from $51.7 million as at March 31 2017, while gearing ratio stood at 30.9%, down from 54.1% a year ago.

To reward shareholders, the board has proposed a final one-tier tax exempt dividend of 0.3 cent, which represents 40% of FY18 earnings.

Looking ahead, SingHaiyi says it is well-positioned to capitalise on the recovering property sector in Singapore, given its recent land acquisitions.

In the US, the group will continue to focus on delivering its pipeline of development projects against the backdrop of a stable property market.

Shares in SingHaiyi closed 0.1 cent higher at 9.6 cents on Thursday.