Food solutions and gateway services provider SATS posted a net loss of $43.7 million for the 1Q20/21 ended June, falling from earnings of $54.7 million a year ago.
The 180% plunge y-o-y was attributable to a sharp decline in aviation revenue and contribution from share of results of associates and joint ventures largely due to the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic.
SATS says the loss was “in line” with the guidance it posted on July 29 during its 4Q and FY19/20 results.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter fell 179.6% to 3.9 cents, from 4.9 cents last year.
Group revenue fell 55% y-o-y to $209.4 million due to the lower revenues posted all its segments except non-aviation revenue.
Revenue from Gateway Services fell 67.9% y-o-y to $71.6 million, while revenue from Food Solutions dropped by 43.7% y-o-y to $135.9 million.
The consolidation of new entities in Food Solutions namely Country Foods, Nanjing Weizhou Airline Food Corp, and Monty’s Bakehouse UK mitigated the decline in revenue.
Non-aviation revenue grew 73.3% y-o-y to $96.9 million while aviation revenue fell 72.9% y-o-y to $110.6 million.
The lower revenue was also attributable to the lower number of overall flights handled, cargo tonnage, and overall meals volume.
Share of results of associates and joint ventures fell 315.1% y-o-y to a $31.4 million loss due to the impact of the pandemic especially in China and India.
Group expenditure fell 39.9% y-o-y to $245.4 million due to the 58.7% y-o-y reduction in staff cost due to government grants, lower contract services, and reduction in workforce.
As at June 30, SATS has total equity of $1.76 billion, with a cash balance of $723.5 million.
Shares in SATS closed 1 cent higher, or 0.3% up, at $2.92 on August 21.
