FJ Benjamin Holdings F10 has announced earnings of $3.53 million for its FY2023 ended June 30, a 19% increase over its earnings of $2.98 million in the previous financial year with the post-pandemic economic recovery lifting sales in its key markets.
The fashion and lifestyle retailer also increased its earnings per share to 0.3 cents, up slightly from 0.27 cents per share in FY2022.
For the full-year period, FJ Benjamin’s revenue was up by 7% y-o-y to $86.5 million, while its cost of sales increased by a smaller 1% to $41.3 million compared to last year.
With higher sales, creating increased inventory and improved margins, the company’s gross profit also increased to $45.2 million for FY2023, up by 13% from its gross profit of $39.9 million in FY2022. Gross profit margin rose by nearly 3 percentage points to 52.2% in FY2023 from 49.4% previously.
Meanwhile, FJ Benjamin’s cash and cash equivalents halved to $5.24 million as at June 30 from $10.9 million the same time last year.
In view of the “minimal profit” made by the company in FY2023, no dividend has been declared for the period.
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CEO Douglas Benjamin says: “We saw a recovery in sales in the last financial year with the gradual removal of all Covid-19 restrictions. However, with regional economies slowing down and costs continuing to rise, we remain cautious.”
Sales in Singapore and Malaysia, excluding exports to Indonesia, rose 6% and 11%, respectively compared to FY2022, while sales from FJ Benjamin’s Indonesia associate were up 15% in FY2023. However, the weakening Malaysian ringgit resulted in a translation loss of $3.0 million.
In FY2023, FJ Benjamin opened 18 new stores and closed 14 stores, bringing its total network to 148 stores in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The business recovery also led to more working capital being used for purchases and store openings, which were financed in part using internal funds.
This includes the company’s latest lifestyle concept store in Singapore, Avenue on 3, which opened in April this year. Spanning over 8,000 square feet of space at Paragon Shopping Centre, it combines a luxury shoe store, a cafe, suites for beauty treatments, a champagne bar and a chocolatier.
Benjamin says the initial response to the new concept has been “encouraging”. “Management is focused on pursuing revenue synergies and exploring opportunities to strengthen our earnings base,” he adds.
Shares in FJ Benjamin closed flat 1.9 cents on Aug 24.
