SINGAPORE (Oct 16): Qian Hu Corporation saw its earnings rise 23.2% to $175,000 for the 3Q18 ended September, from $142,000 a year ago.
This was mainly due to handling income of $0.5 million derived from the handling of transhipments in relation to its aquaculture business. Qian Hu did not register any handling income a year ago. As a result, other income surged ten-fold to $0.6 million in 3Q18.
3Q18 revenue fell 4.7% to $21.4 million, from $22.5 million a year ago.
The decline was mainly due lower revenue from both the fish and accessories segments, partially mitigated by marginally higher revenue contribution from its plastics business.
Qian Hu says the export of its ornamental fish to many countries over the world was affected by the FIFA World Cup held in June to July this year, as customers typically do not actively make ornamental fish-related purchases during the duration of the football tournament.
The group has also seen a continuous decline in the selling price of Dragon Fish since the beginning of the year due to intense price competition.
As at end September, cash and cash equivalents stood at $10.2 million.
“Despite momentary fluctuations in our Fish and Accessories revenues this quarter, we have continued to focus on driving efficiency as well as boosting margins,” says Kenny Yap, Qian Hu’s executive chairman and managing director.
Qian Hu’s gross profit margin rose by 0.2 percentage points to 30.3% in 3Q18.
“Moving ahead, we continue to be optimistic about our export business for ornamental fish and accessories, even as we intensify our efforts on achieving excellence in our new Edible Fish Aquaculture business in China,” Yap says.
“In addition, we remain steadfast on innovation as we expand our product portfolio through our cutting-edge filtration technology, fish nutrition and genetic breeding of unique varieties of Dragon Fish,” he adds.
Shares in Qian Hu last closed at 23 cents on Oct 15.
