SINGAPORE (Oct 31): Second Chance Properties reported earnings of $7.9 million for the full year ended Sept, down 16.6% from FY17 due to lower revenue and fair value losses.
An interim cash dividend of 0.3 cents per share has been declared for FY18, unchanged from the previous financial year.
Revenue for the quarter fell 9.2% to $31.6 million in FY18 compared to $34.8 million in FY17 as revenue contributions declined across all business segments save for securities.
The decline in Second Chance’s apparel business was largely attributed to its closure of most of its retail outlets in Malaysia – coupled with intense competition and the rising e-commerce trend – while the lower contributions from the gold business was due to a general slowdown in the gold market.
Meanwhile, the slowdown in rental revenue from properties was mainly due to the sale of two investment properties over FY18, as well as lower rental received on some renewal of leases.
The securities business witnessed an exceptional rise in revenue due to increased dividends received from equity securities purchased in the financial year under review.
Over FY18, the group also booked a fair value loss of $5 million as compared to a fair value gain of $1.3 million a year ago.
Second Chance says its outlook for the external sector remains highly uncertain considering increased global protectionism, which has created the possibility of some significant risk to Singapore’s economy in the near future.
In the group’s view, the retail apparel business remains very challenging, especially in Malaysia. It also believes additional cooling measures have damped the outlook of Singapore’s property market, especially in the residential sector, where rental income has been affected from lower property sales income as well as lower rentals from lease renewals.
Nonetheless, Second Chance remains confident of its gold business and expects it to remain profitable despite slightly lower profits compared to a year ago.
It is also anticipating further hikes in interest rates in the near future.
As at 11.36am, shares in Second Chance are trading 2.3% higher at 22 cents.
