SINGAPORE (May 30): Fischer Tech posted a 0.5% increase in earnings to $13.03 million for the full year ended March, from $12.97 million a year ago.
Excluding the performance share expenses of $1.7 million, net profit in FY17 would have been 13.3% higher at about $14.7 million.
Group revenue fell 5.2% to $178.1 million in FY17, from $187.9 million a year ago.
This was mainly attributed to a reduction in orders from customers across all product sectors.
Fischer Tech’s automotive segment, which accounts for 87.3% of the group’s total revenue, saw a 2.1% dip in revenue to $155.5 million in FY17, from $158.9 million a year ago.
The decrease was mainly attributable to lower volume of business from existing customers.
Lower demand and sales also saw revenue from the group’s computer peripherals and consumer electronics businesses fall 7.2% and 5.3%, respectively.
Revenue from its healthcare segment fell 85.2% to $868,000, from $5.9 million a year ago.
This was as a result of the planned cessation of plastic sales to a major medical customer due to the right sizing of production facility of a subsidiary in the second half of last year.
Despite lower revenue, gross profit increased by 0.7% to $39.6 million.
Gross profit margin also increased to 22.2% in FY17, from 20.9% a year ago. This was mainly as a result of stringent cost control as well as improved efficiency and better utilisation of production capacity.
Other income increased by 29.5% to $2.1 million, from $1.6 million a year ago, mainly due to higher exchange gain as a result of the substantial strengthening of the US dollar against Singapore dollar and Chinese renminbi.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $40.6 million as at March 31, 2017.
Fischer Tech has recommended a final dividend of 3.0 cents per share, and a special dividend of 3.0 cents per share.
Including an interim dividend paid earlier, this brings total dividend for the year to 9.0 cents – higher than the total dividend of 7.0 cents a year ago.
Looking ahead, Fischer Tech says the operating environment is expected to remain “challenging, competitive and difficult” amid the uncertain global economic outlook and tepid growth weighing on business sentiment.
“Against this backdrop, the group will continue to streamline its operations, enhance its engineering capabilities, drive operational efficiency and tighten cost control to remain competitive,” Fischer Tech says in a filing to SGX.
In line with its growth strategy and consolidation, the group says it has acquired another factory building in Suzhou, which expected to commence operations in 2Q18.
Shares of Fischer Tech last closed at 6 cents lower at $2.63 on Monday.
