OKP Holdings 5CF has reported earnings of $35.6 million for the 1HFY2023 ended June 30, 29.6 times higher – or 2,899.7% - higher than the earnings of $1.2 million in the same period the year before.
The earnings surge was attributable to the higher revenue and other gains.
Earnings per share (EPS) stood at 11.59 cents on a fully diluted basis.
Revenue rose by 30.6% y-o-y to $70.0 million mainly due to higher contribution from the construction and maintenance segments and partly offset by lower rental income.
Gross profit, however, fell by 58.6% y-o-y to $2.1 million as cost of sales rose. Gross profit margins also fell by 6.4 percentage points y-o-y to 2.9%.
Other gains surged by 4,395.1% y-o-y to $45.1 million mainly due to higher interest income from higher interest rates from bank deposits, the arbitral award of $43.8 million in relation to the contract 449A worksite incident, as well as a decrease in the loss on foreign exchange (forex) of $0.6 million from the revaluation of assets and liabilities denominated in Australian dollars (AUD) to Singapore dollars (SGD). This was partly offset by lower government grants.
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As at June 30, the group’s order book stood at $383.7 million with projects extending till 2026.
An interim dividend of 0.5 cents was declared for the period and payable on Sept 27.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $65.8 million as at June 30.
“We are pleased with our performance for 1HFY2023 which was bolstered by the recovery in the local construction sector. With a positive outlook of steady construction demand from both the private and public sectors, along with a healthy pipeline of construction projects, we remain vigilant in leveraging on our core expertise to tender for projects, while maintaining prudence in our capital structure and finances,” says Or Toh Wat, group managing director.
“Amidst the prevailing macroeconomic uncertainties and elevated material prices, we remain even more focused on our strategy to diversify our earnings base and build up our base of recurring income. Furthermore, OKP will continue to explore strategic partnerships with experienced partners, especially for our property development and investment business, both locally and potentially in the region, to ensure the continued delivery of value to stakeholders,” he adds.
Shares in OKP Holdings closed 2 cents higher or 8.7% up at 25 cents on Aug 4.
