Hock Lian Seng reports 60.9% y-o-y surge in FY2023 earnings of $26.6 mil

 

Singapore-based civil engineering company Hock Lian Seng has reported earnings of $26.6 million for the FY2023 ended Dec 31, 2023, 60.9% higher y-o-y.

 

The company&rsquo s earnings for the 2HFY2023 more than doubled to $17.7 million from $8.8 million in the corresponding period the year before.

 

Earnings per share (EPS) for the FY2023 and 2HFY2023 stood at 5.19 cents and 3.45 cents on a diluted basis.

 

Revenue for the FY2023 increased by 41.5% y-o-y to $202.0 million with the group&rsquo s two segments &ndash civil engineering and property development &ndash recording revenue growth.

 

Construction activities at Aviation Park and Serangoon MRT station, which saw increases during the year, were the key contributors for the increase in civil engineering revenue. At the same time, the sales of industrial building units at Shine@Tuas, an industrial building at 11 Tuas South Link 1, was the key factor in the surge for the property development segment.

 

Gross profit surged by 123% y-o-y to $23.2 million for the year due to the higher revenue and higher gross profit margin (GPM) in the property development segment.

Other income was up by 30.6% y-o-y to $15.0 million due to the higher interest income, the legal cost award from the GS Engineering & Construction and Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure joint venture (JV) and higher rental income from Shine@Tuas.

 

For the year, a first and final dividend of 1.5 cents was declared, higher than the 1.0 cent-dividend paid out in the FY2022.

 

The proposed dividend, if approved, will be paid on May 17.

 

As at Dec 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents stood at $132.5 million.

Hock Lian Seng FY2018 results