Boustead’s H2 profit up 48 per cent to S$59.1 million 

[SINGAPORE] Engineering and technology group Boustead Singapore’s net profit for the six months ended Mar 31, 2024, increased 58 per cent to S$59.1 million compared to the year-ago period.

This came despite revenue decreasing 42 per cent to S$231.9 million over the same time frame.

On a per-share basis, earnings for the half were 12 Singapore cents, up from 7.8 Singapore cents in the year-ago period.

The mainboard-listed company said in a bourse filing on Monday (May 26) that profits had increased despite a dip in revenue due to lower income tax expenses and a one-off gain.

The drop in revenue was a result of significantly lower revenue from Boustead Projects and lower revenue from the energy engineering division on lower order backlog carried forward at the end of FY2024.

For the six months, income tax expense was down 38 per cent at S$9.2 million, while there was a S$29 million gain on the non-cash transfer of the Boustead Projects fund management business to UIB.

In March, Boustead agreed to transfer its fund and property-management businesses to Hong Kong-based real estate company Unified Industrial. As part of the agreement, Boustead Singapore’s subsidiary BP-Unity took a 24.1 per cent stake in Unified Industrial.

For the 2025 financial year, the group’s net profit was up 48 per cent at S$95 million, from S$64.2 million in FY2024, while revenue was down 31 per cent at S$527.1 million from S$767.6 million in FY2024.

The group said that similar factors affected both half and full-year results.

For FY2025 by segment revenue, the group’s geospatial business increased 4 per cent to S$221.4 million; its real estate solutions business revenue was down 64 per cent to S$134.3 million; its energy engineering business down 9 per cent to S$158.9 million; and its healthcare segment up 14 per cent to S$12.1 million.

A final dividend of four Singapore cents per share has been proposed, with an additional special dividend of two Singapore cents per share. The total dividend proposed and paid for FY2025 will be 7.5 Singapore cents, compared to 5.5 Singapore cents in FY2024.

The group said that its real estate solutions segment was “affected by the significantly lower order backlog carried forward at the end of FY2024 and hampered by challenging and severe business conditions and business development activities”.

Group gross profit in FY2025 was 3 per cent higher at S$233.3 million, with gross margin of 44 per cent, compared to 30 per cent in the previous year, “due to good cost management on executed projects”.

The group notes that for a comparative review, after adjusting for other gains/losses, impairments and other exceptional adjustments, all net of non-controlling interests, net profit for FY2025 would have been 8 per cent higher year-on-year.

Going forward, it said that elevated geopolitical tensions and a protectionist trading environment threatens global manufacturing supply chains and may cause energy market disruptions that would impact the core businesses of the group, though it remains cautiously optimistic.

Shares of the counter ended trading at S$1.04, down S$0.01 or 1 per cent, before the update.