SINGAPORE (Feb 7): Singapore Post (SingPost) saw its earnings tumble 39.3% to $30.5 million for 3QFY2019/20 ended December 2019, from $50.2 million a year ago.
Earnings per share (EPS) fell to 1.19 cents for 3QFY2019/20, from 2.06 cents in 3QFY2018/19.
The decline was mainly attributable to the absence of exceptional gains amounting to $31.8 million recognised a year ago.
Excluding one-off items as well as losses from discontinued operations, underlying net profit for 3QFY2019/20 was $31.2 million, some 5.1% lower than $32.9 million a year ago.
In the same period, revenue dipped 2.0% to $355.9 million, largely due to an accelerated decline in domestic letter mail volumes, as well as weak performance in the freight forwarding business.
The lower revenue came despite the group’s international post and parcel business hitting a record-high quarterly revenue of $148 million.
As at end December, cash and cash equivalents stood at $259.1 million.
SingPost has declared an interim dividend of 0.5 cent per share for the period, unchanged from a year ago. The interim dividend will be paid on Feb 28.
“Even though ecommerce-related deliveries have shown strong growth, we are seeing these benefits being eroded by the decline in letter mail volumes,” says Paul Coutts, SingPost’s group CEO.
“As part of our response to the decline of domestic letter mail volumes, we will continue with our ‘Future of Post’ strategy to reposition ourselves and transform Singapore’s postal landscape. We expect to commence trials of our new technology in the coming months,” he adds.
Shares in SingPost closed 1.1% lower, or down 1 cent, at 89 cents on Friday, following the results announcement.
