SINGAPORE (Nov 7): AusGroup has swung back to the black in 1Q18, posting earnings of A$3.12 million ($3.3 million) compared to a loss of A$2.08 million in 1Q17.
Revenue was up 53.6% at A$153.7 million from A$100.1 million a year ago, mainly due to higher revenue contributions from the work undertaken on core projects in the energy and process sectors.
In addition, these works were the main contributors to group’s total revenue for the quarter.
In line with the increase in revenue, cost of sales increased 56.3% to A$142.4 million compared to A$91.1 million last year.
Hence, gross profit for the first quarter ended September came in at A$11.4 million, 26.3% higher than A$9.02 million reported in the same period last year.
Gross profit margin for 1Q18 was 7.4%, in line with the gross profit margin of 1Q17.
Other operating costs combined with administrative expenses and marketing and distribution expenses decreased significantly in 1Q18 by 20.4% y-o-y to A$5.5 million compared to A$7.0 million a year ago.
Finance costs saw a 21.9% decrease to A$3.30 million from A$4.22 million a year ago, mainly as a result of the reduced outstanding balance on the notes and shareholder loan following the debt conversion exercise in 4Q17.
In 1Q18, the group posted a net gain on partial debt restructure of A$452,000, which was not recorded in the previous year.
As at Sept 30, the group’s cash and cash equivalents stood at A$50.8 million.
In its outlook, AusGroup says the forward pipeline remains solid with core projects expected to grow in scale and complexity to provide opportunities for organic growth in the energy and process sectors.
Shares in AusGroup closed at 4 cents on Tuesday.
