Asiatic Group (Holdings) 5CR has announced earnings of $522,000 for the 1HFY2024 ended Sept 30, a 13.2% y-o-y improvement over its earnings of $461,000 in the same period last year.
Earnings per share for the first half of FY2024, however, was down to 0.02 cents compared to 0.03 cents in 1HFY2023.
For the half-year period, Asiatic’s revenue came to $22.0 million, up 6.1% y-o-y. The increase was attributed to the increase in the electricity demand by tenants in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone power plant compared to 1HFY2023, mainly due to the effect of hot weather experienced in Cambodia caused by El Nino in the first two quarters of FY2024.
This increase was partially offset by a decrease in revenue derived from the Fire Protection Solutions division due to a decrease in project revenue as deliveries to customers are scheduled in the later periods of FY2024.
The company’s cost of sales also increased by 9.8% y-o-y to $15.2 million in 1HFY2024 as the result of the increase in revenue in the energy services divisions during the period.
Gross profits for the same period were up by 53.9% y-o-y to $708,000, while gross margins decreased compared to 1HFY2023. This was attributed to a higher proportion of gross margins derived from Asiatic’s energy services division that has a lower margin compared to the gross margins derived from fire protection solutions.
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As at Sept 30, the company’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $1.2 million.
Asiatic says it continues its pivot away from energy services and works towards refocusing attention and resources on its fire protection solutions division, with the aim of expanding market share and product base.
As announced on Sept 20, Maju Intan Biomass Energy has been fully divested. The company is now focusing on the remaining joint venture assets held by Colben Energy through its indirect subsidiaries.
Shares in Asiatic closed flat at 0.2 cents on Nov 9.
