SINGAPORE (May 30): Commercial explosives manufacturer Fabchem China reported losses of RMB 15.1 million ($3.2 million) for the FY18 ended March, compared to earnings of RMB 1.0 million a year ago.
This was mainly due to the absence of a gain of RMB 26.2 million a year ago from discontinued operations.
FY18 revenue jumped 28.8% to RMB 191.3 million, from RMB 148.5 million a year ago.
This was led by a surge in revenue from its explosive devices segment, which more than doubled to RMB 79.0 million in FY18, from RMB 33.4 million a year ago. The increase was on the back of higher production capacity of boosters, as the group’s second automated boosters production line commenced production in Apr 2017.
Gross profit soared 61.6% to RMB 35.9 million in FY18, from RMB 22.2 million a year ago, as gross profit margin rose by 3.8 percentage points to 18.8%.
As at end March, cash and cash equivalents stood at RMB 89.0 million.
Looking ahead, the group says it is exploring merger and acquisition opportunities in China, as the government has since 2017 begun to rationalise the commercial explosives industry by encouraging companies within this specialised and niche market segment to merge and consolidate their business operations.
Shares of Fabchem closed 2.9 cents lower, or down 15.3%, at 16.1 cents on Wednesday.
