In addition, higher Famous Holdings revenue due to volume growth, as well as higher revenue from the Property segment mainly due to the absence of rental rebates provided to eligible tenants last year also helped offset the decline in group revenue.
Volume-related costs declined 4% year-on-year, mainly due to lower International Post and Parcel volume, which led to overall Group Operating Expenses declining 2% over the same period.
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In addition to the lower group revenue, the lower EBIT was driven by the absence ofS$8.3 million of government grants such as from the Jobs Support Scheme. However, these were partly offset by strong y-o-y growth in profit contribution from the Logistics and Property segments in line with higher revenue, as well as share of profit from newly acquired associate Freight Management Holdings in Australia
The group’s net cash position stood at $201 million as at end-June, a 12% improvement from $179 million the previous quarter due largely to positive net cash flow generated during the quarter.
In terms of its operational indicators, SingPost saw continued growth from its eCommerce logistics volume in its two key markets of Singapore and Australia.
In Singapore, domestic eCommerce logistics volume grew 21% y-o-y, driven by higher adoption of eCommerce activities. In Australia, the last mile delivery business recorded y-o-y volume growth of 2% due to higher adoption of eCommerce, despite a high base last year as volumes surged amid lockdown measures from April to June last year.
Meanwhile, the International Post and Parcel business continued to be affected by the ongoing disruption to international air freight out of Changi Airport caused by Covid-19, which has resulted in higher international conveyance costs.
\Against this backdrop, eCommerce related tonnage for the IPP business fell 34% y-o-y. There was also a high base effect as volumes for the same quarter last year were boosted by customers rushing to ship more items prior to the implementation of tighter border restrictions.
Volumes of letters and printed papers in Singapore increased 2% y-o-y, driven by higher admail volume compared to a low base last year due to the circuit breaker.
For SingPost’s property segment, the SPC retail mall and office/enrichment segments had occupancy of over 97% as at 30 June, despite a challenging leasing market. However, overall SPC occupancy fell to 93%, as a sole external tenant in the industrial segment moved out. Work is being done to reposition the vacated space before leasing it out.
In the Others segment, which comprises smaller properties such as shophouses and the portion of delivery bases rented out to external tenants, occupancy increased to 98.8% as new tenants were secured.
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Looking ahead, SingPost expects performance to continue being impacted by pandemic-related disruptions, especially for its International Post and Parcel business. Nonetheless, the group continues to see robust growth in eCommerce Logistics.
SingPost states it will continue to invest in transformation initiatives to reposition for the long term. “This includes implementing the Future of Post initiative in Singapore, building our Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) logistics capabilities and scale, and looking for more opportunities to grow our Australia business in line with our strategy to create a second home market there,” the company said in its quarterly update.
Shares in SingPost closed 0.5 cents or 0.79% lower at 63 cents on August 5.
