SINGAPORE (July 16): Qian Hu, the integrated fish service provider, saw 2Q earnings jump nearly sixfold to $146,000 from $25,000 a year ago.
The stronger bottomline was due to continued growth in its fish segment, led by strong sales of dragon fish and the new aquaculture business in China, and higher-margin accessories products.
Group revenue for the three months ended June increased by 1.0% to $21.9 million, largely due to a 4.8% decline in accessories sales, affected by customers deferring purchases till after June, the effective date for the abolishment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia.
Operating profit for the fish segment surged to $378,000 from $23,000 on better margins from the group’s self-bred dragon fish and ornamental fish exports despite start-up expenses incurred from the group’s second aquaculture farm in Hainan.
In spite of lower revenue, the accessories segment achieved a 35% rise in operating profit to $583,000 to $432,000, thanks to marketing efforts in promoting its own product brands which yielded better margins.
With gradual increase in overall operational costs, the group’s plastics segment reported a 27% dip in operating profit to $162,000, despite achieving similar revenue contributions fromyear-on-year.
In the first half of the year, Qian Hu posted a near trebling in earnings to $181,000 on the back of a marginal 0.6% increase in group revenue to $43.6 million.
For the first six months, the group’s cash and cash equivalents increased to $9.6 million.
Kenny Yap, Qian Hu’s Executive Chairman and Managing Director, says: “Moving ahead, the Group continues to focus on innovation to expand our product portfolio - particularly in the areas of cutting-edge filtration technology, fish nutrition and genetic breeding of unique varieties of Dragon Fish. We are on track to becoming the industry’s most value-adding and productive provider of edible fish, ornamental fish and accessories.”
Shares in Qian Hu last traded at 19 cents.
