by millionairemind » Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:43 pm
Published July 30, 2010
Singapore Shipping profit for Q1 dives 66%
By LYNN KAN
SINGAPORE Shipping Corporation (SSC) recorded a 66 per cent dive in net profit to $450,000 for the first quarter ended June 30 despite a surge in revenue.
The group posted a 51.5 per cent rise in revenue to about $4.66 million from the comparable period the year before.
The revenue contributed by MV Boheme - a US$50 million pure car truck carrier it purchased in April - was partially offset by the loss of revenue from a vessel disposed in December last year.
Earnings per share was 0.1 cent, down 0.2 cent from the previous year.
But while SSC saw a 179.6 per cent rise in net profit to $1.3 million from its ship owning and management segment, it saw a sharp 99.4 per cent, or about $1.02 million, drop in finance income to just $6,000.
The chief cause was the absence this time round of a $836,000 'net change in fair value of disposed/ outstanding financial assets held-for-trading' which it recorded in the year-ago quarter.
Additionally, the group recorded interest expense on bank borrowing of $188,000 and $292,000 upfront fee on bank borrowing. It funded the purchase of MV Boheme via internal resources and bank borrowings.
The group declared no dividend this quarter.
SSC also announced the appointment of Ng Jui Ping as independent director. The former Chief of Defence currently heads his own business consultancy - August Asia Consulting.
Executive chairman of SSC Ow Chio Kiat said: ' Jui Ping's appointment will further strengthen our board and contribute positively to SSC, as we continue to assess opportunities to grow our core businesses.'
SSC shares closed up half a cent at 28 cents yesterday.
"If a speculator is correct half of the time, he is hitting a good average. Even being right 3 or 4 times out of 10 should yield a person a fortune if he has the sense to cut his losses quickly on the ventures where he has been wrong" - Bernard Baruch
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