Civil engineering company Hock Lian Seng has reported earnings of $32 million for the FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024, up 20.4% y-o-y from the $26.6 million reported in the same period a year ago.
For the 2HFY2024, however, earnings came in 34.3% y-o-y lower at $11.6 million, down from $17.7 million in 2HFY2023.
Earnings per share for the FY2024 came in at 6.25 cents per share, an increase from the 5.19 cents per share reported in the corresponding period.
The group’s FY2024 revenue saw a 9.2% y-o-y decrease to $183.5 million, while gross profit grew 30.9% y-o-y to $30.4 million.
For the 2HFY2024, revenue also decreased 12.7% y-o-y to $83.6 million, and gross profit saw a 44.7% y-o-y decrease to $9.1 million.
By segment, the group’s civil engineering revenue saw a 81.9% y-o-y increase for the FY2024 to $150.2 million, while property development saw a 18% y-o-y increase in revenue to $33.1 million. Investment properties saw a 0.1% y-o-y increase in revenue to $200,000.
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The group says that revenue for FY2024 decreased as the civil engineering segment recorded lower sales. This is from the completion of the Changi Airport joint venture (CAG JV) project in December 2023.
Gross profit increased due to civil engineering finalising accounts as the CAG JV projects near completion.
Other income amounted to $14.5 million, a decrease of $0.5 million mainly due to the lower rental income for unsold units of $1.7 million and one off income of legal cost award of $1.1 million in 2023. This was offset by higher interest income of $0.9 million and fair valuation gain for investment securities of $0.6 million and gain on sales of fixed assets $0.7 million.
The company has declared a final dividend of 1.80 cents per share for the FY2024.
Shares in Hock Lian Seng closed 2.5 cents lower or 6.1% down at 38.5 cents on Feb 25.
