SINGAPORE (May 9): Fu Yu Corp, the fabricator of precision moulds, reported 1Q earnings nearly halved to $531,000 from $989,000 a year ago.
For the three months ended March, group revenue declined 14% to $44.7 million from $52 million a year ago due mainly to slower customer demand amid the global economic uncertainties and uneven business environment.
Sales from the Malaysia segment decreased by 30.8% to $7.4 million while sales from the China segment eased 12.2% to $27.4 million. Sales from the Singapore segment dipped to $9.9 million. Still, China remained as the group’s largest geographical segment, accounting for 61.3% of group revenue.
Gross profit decreased 15% to $7.5 million in tandem with lower revenue. The group sustained its gross profit margin at 16.7% in 1Q17 compared to 16.9% in 1Q16, attributed mainly to lower depreciation charges as certain production assets have been fully depreciated but are still in use as well as its continual efforts to manage costs and achieve more efficient utilisation of the manufacturing facilities.
Other income declined 24.0% to $1.9 million from $2.5 million due mainly to lower grants.
Fu Yu expects the operating environment to remain challenging as ongoing uncertainties surrounding the global economy continue to weigh on business sentiment and end-user demand. Intense competition is also expected to prevail which could result in pressure on product selling prices.
The counter closed 1 cent lower at 22 cents.
