SINGAPORE (Aug 1): Construction and civil engineering firm Tiong Seng Holdings posted earnings of $14.3 million for the 1H17 ended June, from $8.2 million a year ago.
This was on the back of higher revenue, which grew 4.7% in 1H17 to $424.4 million, from $405.2 million a year ago.
This was mainly attributable to a 36.5% growth in revenue from its construction segment to $399.6 million, due to the net increase in work done for new and on-going projects as a result of differences in stages of various construction contracts.
The increase was partially offset by a 78.6% decline in revenue from its property development segment to $23.8 million. Tiong Seng says this was largely due to the timing of revenue recognition.
Other income fell to $2.3 million in 1H2017, from $4.0 million a year ago, mainly due to a reduction in profits from sale of car park lots, as well as the disposal of investment properties, plant and equipment.
Net finance expenses fell 44% to $3.2 million in 1H2017, from $5.7 million a year ago, mainly due to lower exchange loss from the depreciation of RMB against the Singapore dollar.
The group registered a share of profit from joint ventures of approximately $0.4 million in 1H2017 as compared to a loss of approximately $1.4 million a year ago. This was mainly due to net contribution from certain joint venture projects.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $72.6 million as at June 30, 2017.
The group says it continues to optimise its capital structure to position itself favourably to capture growth opportunities.
“We are progressively seeing a healthy uptick in demand for our projects in China and remain committed to executing the rest of our existing developments in China,” says Tiong Seng CEO Pek Lian Guan.
“While staying vigilant to market conditions, we look to strengthen and expand our capabilities within the built environment and are also prospecting for opportunities closer to home,” Pek adds. “While we seek to expand our overall property development portfolio, we are mindful of risks and will adopt an incremental approach going forward.”
Shares in Tiong Seng closed 1 cent higher at 32.5 cents on Tuesday.
