SINGAPORE (Feb 23): Property developer and construction group Tiong Seng Holdings saw its earnings double to $30.9 million for the FY17 ended December from $15.3 million in FY16.
This was partly attributable to improving gross profit margins for the construction segment, which increased 1.9 percentage points to 10.4% for FY17, mainly due to differences in profile and profitability of construction projects recognised over the year.
Group revenue fell 4% to $742.8 million in FY17, from $774.3 million ago.
The decline was led by a 35% drop in revenue from sales of development properties to $89.5 million, partially mitigated by a 3% growth in revenue from construction contracts to $651.3 million.
As at end December, cash and cash equivalents stood at $141.7 million.
Tiong Seng has declared a first and final dividend of 1.5 cents per share for FY17, compared to a first and final dividend of 0.8 cent per share a year ago.
“In spite of a challenging year stemming from slowing growth of construction demand in Singapore, our prudent approach in bidding for contracts coupled with an emphasis on nurturing the use of cutting-edge technologies and concepts to elevate productivity has borne fruit,” says Tiong Seng CEO Pek Lian Guan.
“Our robust earnings are reflective of our company’s forward-looking mentality, as we strive to build a sustainable business model with the ability to tide us through this competitive industry landscape in the coming years,” he adds.
The group’s construction order book stood at approximately $543.1 million as at Dec 31, 2017, with projects expected to extend until 2020.
In addition, Tiong Seng has announced that it will be restructuring its core construction segment in 2018 to introduce a new business segment: engineering solutions.
“Leveraging on our investments in construction technologies, our new segment will allow our mainstay construction and property development arms to tap onto our broad spectrum of state-of-the-art capabilities,” says Pek.
Shares of Tiong Seng closed flat at 39.5 cents on Friday.
