CURRY puff maker Old Chang Kee on Friday (Nov 8) posted a net profit of S$6.2 million for the six months ended Sep 30, climbing 42 per cent from S$4.4 million year on year (yoy).
This translated to an earnings per share of S$0.0512, compared with S$0.0361 a year ago.
The group has declared an interim dividend of S$0.01 per share, unchanged from a year ago, which is payable on or around Dec 20.
The revenue for the first half of FY2025 went up by 3.2 per cent to S$51.8 million, from S$50.2 million in the corresponding period in the prior year, due to higher retail and non-retail sales.
Revenue from retail outlets increased by 1.2 per cent, said the group. This rise was attributed to incremental revenue from new outlets and an increase in revenue from existing outlets, partially offset by a decrease in revenue from closed outlets.
Revenue from other services, such as delivery, catering services and non-retail sales, climbed by 19.3 per cent, on higher delivery sales, corporate catering and non-retail orders and event sales.
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Gross profit for the six months expanded 7.9 per cent to S$36 million, from S$33.4 million yoy, as cost of sales decreased by 6.1 per cent.
In tandem, the group recorded a higher gross profit margin of 69.5 per cent for the period, driven by improved food-suppliers cost management, effective product pricing management, and a reduction in utilities and production staff costs as a percentage of the higher revenue in H1.
Old Chang Kee said the group still faces inflationary pressures from the rising expenses of raw materials, labour and rental, and that manpower shortage remains challenging. Near-term retail demand also “appears muted”.
It is thus focusing on reducing operating costs, enhancing its gross margins and optimising operations to manage manpower constraints.
“Additionally, the group is actively pursuing non-retail revenue sources, such as business-to-business sales,” said the food products manufacturer.
Shares of Old Chang Kee finished up 0.7 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.77 on Friday, before the announcement.
