For the 1HFY2021 ended Sept 30, Old Chang Kee announced earnings of $6.0 million, up 275% from the $1.6 million posted the year before.
The higher earnings translates to earnings per share (EPS) of 5.05 cents for the half-year period, up from 1.28 cents posted in 1H2020.
1HFY2021 revenue fell 14.4% y-o-y to $38.2 million due to lower revenue from its retail outlets and offset by higher revenue from sales in delivery and catering.
As at Sept 30, the group operated a total of 88 outlets compared to the 90 outlets in the same period a year ago.
Revenue from retail outlets fell 36.5% y-o-y mainly due to the social distancing measures put in place amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue from other services, include delivery and catering services, increased by some $9.1 million mainly due to the catering of packed meals to foreign workers dormitories and higher delivery revenue during phase 1 of the re-opening of the circuit breaker measures.
Cost of sales fell 20.4% y-o-y to $13.0 million.
As such, gross profit fell 11.0% y-o-y to $25.2 million.
Other income for the half-year period surged to $4.4 million from $480,000 mainly due to government grants such as the Job Support Scheme (JSS), wage credit scheme and property tax rebates.
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Selling and distribution expenses for 1HFY2021 fell 25.1% y-o-y mainly due to lower staff cost as some outlets were closed during the circuit breaker period. The lower expenses were also attributable to the lower outlet operating expenses, waiver of foreign worker levies in April 2020 and rental rebates received from landlords in 1HFY2021.
As at Sept 30 the group reported a positive net working capital of some $6.6 million, compared to the negative working capital of $2.4 million as at March 31, 2020.
An ordinary interim dividend of 0.5 cent per share has been declared for the period.
Looking ahead, the group says its retail revenues remain “considerably low” compared to pre-Covid-19 levels to date due to the various social distancing measures put in place. It adds that it will continue to review if there is a need to provide for further impairment to its assets, depending on the situation.
Shares in Old Chang Kee closed flat at 65.5 cents on Nov 11.
