Raffles Education full-year net profit nearly quadruples to S$40.2m

RAFFLES Education Corporation saw net profit attributable to equity holders nearly quadruple to S$40.2 million for the year ended June 30 from S$10.6 million the year before, it announced in a results filing on Wednesday after market close.

Revenue edged up 1 per cent to S$97.9 million from S$96.8 million the year before.

Other operating income also surged to S$45.1 million, compared with S$4.4 million the year before, including a S$37.4 million gain on the disposal of subsidiary Langfang Development Zone Oriental University City Sino-Singapore Education Investment Co.

Earnings per share were 2.92 Singapore cents, compared with 0.90 cent the year before. No dividend was declared, similar to the previous year, which Raffles Education said was because it does not have accumulative profits to declare a dividend.

However, the group also recorded a S$37 million currency translation loss arising from consolidation of foreign operations, versus the S$8.5 million currency exchange gain the year before. This took total comprehensive income for 2019 down 64 per cent to S$12.6 million, compared with S$35.3 million the year before.

The currency translation loss arose mainly from the translation of Oriental University Holdings (H.K.) and Oriental University Limited net asset value, said Raffles Education.

"The current global trade tensions and currency volatility continue to impact the group," it said, adding that it "will continue to strengthen its operations".

Raffles Education shares closed down 0.2 Singapore cent or 2.67 per cent at 7.3 Singapore cents on Wednesday before the announcement.