Yongmao's Q4 profit down 37.3%

Singapore

YONGMAO Holdings's net profit for the fourth quarter ended March fell 37.3 per cent, from 11 million yuan (S$2.4 million) to 6.9 million yuan as revenue dropped 22.8 per cent, from 220.5 million yuan to 170.1 million yuan.

This was mainly due to a decrease in sales in People's Republic of China (PRC) by 42.8 per cent as a result of weaker domestic demand due to the property slowdown in many cities. Sales in Asia (outside the PRC) grew 9.2 per cent, especially in Malaysia, Laos, Macau and Hong Kong. Overall, PRC sales still formed the largest market of the group, amounting to 45.6 per cent of revenue in Q4 compared with 61.6 per cent a year ago. Asia (outside the PRC) formed the second largest market, contributing 34.3 per cent of revenue against 24.2 per cent previously.

For Q4, total operating expenses fell 7.7 per cent to 42.6 million yuan.

For the full year ended March, net profit rose 22.5 per cent from 51.3 million yuan to 62.9 million yuan despite revenue dropping 13.9 per cent from 909.6 million yuan to 783 yuan million.

Other income surged 255.1 per cent to 15 million yuan for the full year, mainly due to the resultant gain of 12.1 million yuan upon the completion of the restructuring with Tat Hong Holdings, said Yongmao.

"While the property market in China continues to be mired in uncertainty and demand remained sluggish, we anticipate the recent stimulus measures from the government will help support property market recovery and lift up construction equipment demands," said executive director and group general manager, Sun Tian.

"The group will also continue to expand its overseas operations in regions like the Middle East, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and North America to diversify its risk across different geographic regions and to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders."

The board has proposed a per-share special dividend of 0.2 S cent and a final dividend of 0.6 S cent per share, giving a total of 0.8 S cent for FY2015.

Yongmao shares ended trading unchanged at 15 S cents on Wednesday.