XMH Holdings BQF has reported earnings of $6.5 million for its 1HFY2024 ended Oct 31, a six-fold increase over its $1.1 million earnings posted for the same period last year.
The company’s earnings per share (EPS) increased at a similar rate to 5.91 cents, up from 0.98 cents in 1HFY2023.
For the half-year period, XMH recorded a revenue of $71.0 million, up 22.6% y-o-y. Its cost of sales, however, stayed relatively flat at $48.6 million, just 5.4% higher than in 1HFY2023.
As a result, the company’s gross profit almost doubled to $22.5 million in 1HFY2024 from $11.9 million in the corresponding FY2023 period. Gross profit margin also grew to 31.6% in 1HFY2024, up over the 20.5% recorded for 1HFY2023.
The increase was attributed to a higher gross profit margin from XMH’s distribution and after-sales segments as a result of increased demand for engines and spare parts, as well as from its project segment with the completion of projects with better margins.
As at Oct 31, XMH’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $30.7 million.
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XMH says it continues to experience strong demand for engines for new or replacement tugboats used in resource and commodity transportation. As such, its engine order book remains robust despite the persistent economic uncertainties and challenges.
However, the delay in raw materials supply arising from supply chain issues and low margins has seen the project segment’s order book decrease.
Moving forward, XMH says it expects the environment to be even more challenging and uncertain. “We will constantly improve our operational procedures where necessary so as to address and adapt to changes where necessary and prepare ourselves for any unexpected events.”
Shares in XMH closed 11.5 cents lower or 25.56 down at 33.5 cents on Dec 8.
