SINGAPORE (Nov 12): Centurion Corporation reported 3Q18 earnings fell by 18% to $7.32 million from $8.88 million in 3Q17.
This was due to the inclusion of fair value losses on investments attributable to equity holders, deferred tax arising from fair value gains and its dual listing expenses in the group’s 3Q17 earnings.
Without the above inclusion, the group’s 3Q18 earnings would have been $21% higher compared to $6.06 million in 3Q17.
In 9M18, the group’s earnings came up to $26.2 million, 25% lower than $35.0 million in 9M17.
During the quarter, the group’s revenue was 12% lower at $28.3 million from $32.3 million a year ago, mainly attributable to the expiry of the lease on Westlite Tuas in Singapore which ceased operations in Dec 2017.
However, the decrease in revenue was partially offset by additional revenue from the group’s recent acquisition of dwell Princess Street in Manchester, as well as a strong showing from its workers accommodation in Malaysia with a high occupancy rate of 95%, and improved performance in the group’s UK student accommodation portfolio.
As cost of sale increased by 19% y-o-y to $8.45 million, 3Q18 gross profit was 9% lower at $8.45 million from $10.5 million in the previous year.
During the quarter, the group did not register net value losses on investment properties and assets held for sale, compared to a loss of $1.48 million last year.
As at end Sept, the group’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $70.7 million.
Moving forward, the group says that it will maintain its course on selectively exploring opportunities to grow its accommodation business through targeted expansion in existing and new markets, in addition to potentially diversifying into other specialised accommodation assets.
Kong Chee Min, CEO of Centurion, says, “Over the next few months, we will see the fruition of our efforts with the addition of more than 7,000 beds into our portfolio. The 6,600-bed PBWA asset in Bukit Minyak is on track for completion in 4Q18 and this will allow us to take advantage of the favourable regulatory environment for quality worker housing in Malaysia.”
Shares in Centurion closed at 40 cents on Monday.
