Singapura Finance has reported earnings of $4.7 million in the 1HFY2021 ended December, 67.0% higher than earnings of $2.8 million in the year before.
The stronger bottom line was primarily attributed to the higher net interest income and hiring charges of $12.4 million, up 35.4% y-o-y due to the decline in interest expenses driven by lower deposit rates.
The company’s earnings for the FY2021 doubled to $9.6 million from the $4.8 million reported in the FY2020 on the back of higher net interest income and hiring charges, which increased 34.6% y-o-y to $24.6 million.
Non-interest income for the year fell by $1.0 million mainly due to lower Covid-19 grants from the Singapore government.
Singapura Finance says there was a net charge for loan impairment losses amounting to $1.2 million in the half-year period compared to $2.3 million during the same period last year. This was mainly attributed to additional allowances for not credit-impaired loans with the uncertainty during Covid-19.
With the higher allowances for not credit-impaired loans, $1.3 million was released from its regulatory loss allowance reserve to accumulated profits. The group continues to set aside adequate allowances in respect of its loan portfolio, it says in a Feb 18 statement.
See also: Trump wins Republican nomination, setting up rematch with Biden
As at end-December, cash and cash equivalents stood at $111.5 million.
A first and final dividend of 2.0 cents per share, as well as a special one-tier tax exempt dividend of 2.0 cents per share, have been declared for the half-year period.
As at 9.08am, shares in Singapura Finance are trading flat at 84.5 cents.
