SINGAPORE (Nov 2): Secura saw 3Q17 earnings drop 65.4% to $90,000 compared to $260,000 a year ago.
The decline came on the back of an increase in distribution and selling expenses and administrative expenses.
Revenue for the third quarter ended September increased 13.6% to $10.2 million from $9.0 million in 3Q16.
This was due to a $910,000 increase in the group’s revenue from its security guarding segment as it secured more contracts and increased the average selling price, as well as a $34,000 increase in revenue from its systems integration segment contributed by Soverus Kingdom Systems incorporated in Oct 2016.
There were no significant fluctuations of revenue in cyber security, homeland security and security printing segment.
Cost of sales in 3Q17 increased 16.8% to $8.47 million from $7.26 million last year, in line with the increase in revenue.
Distributing and selling expenses grew 22% to $654,000 compared to $536,000 in 3Q16, mainly due to business expansion with new sales staff being employed, incremental cost incurred for the new subsidiaries and the amortisation of customer relationship arising from the fair valuation of the SSPL Group and RSPL.
Administrative expenses in 3Q17 increased by 12.4% to $1.63 million from S$1.45 million in 3Q16, mainly due to increase in corporate staff cost to augment our corporate functions to support the group’s expansion plans and incremental costs incurred by the new subsidiaries.
Looking forward, the group will continue to monitor business costs while embracing new technologies and capabilities to strengthen its operation, while the management is actively reviewing the group's cost structure to return to sustainable profitability.
Shares in Secura closed 9.9 cents on Thursday.
