It named its executive chairman Dr Tan Jok Tin as interim chief executive

 

CREATIVE Technology : C76 -0.96% chief executive Song Siow Hui, 70, is retiring from his role as of Friday (Feb 28), and the company is now on a &ldquo global search&rdquo for its next leader.

 

It named its executive chairman Dr Tan Jok Tin, 73, as interim CEO. Meanwhile, the board is looking &ldquo for a dynamic and visionary leader to take Creative into its next phase of growth&rdquo , the company said in a bourse filing on Friday.

 

Dr Tan has a background in the global consumer electronics industry, with experience driving business transformation, operational efficiency and market expansion, said Creative.

 

&ldquo His deep innovation and strategic leadership expertise will further accelerate Creative&rsquo s momentum in delivering high-quality, industry-leading audio solutions,&rdquo the company added.

 

Song said that he is &ldquo grateful for the opportunity to have played the transitional role in the last two years&rdquo . His appointment in January 2023 followed the sudden death of Creative founder Sim Wong Hoo, who was widely seen as a tech visionary.

 

Said Song: &ldquo I&rsquo m looking forward to seeing the new management team take the reins to drive the company forward through transformative actions and fresh strategy.&rdquo

 

Dr Tan said that Creative is entering a &ldquo new and exciting phase&rdquo , and will retain its focus on &ldquo strengthening our market leadership in audio innovation&rdquo and enhancing profitability.

Uncertainty over import tariffs by the US and potential retaliatory measures from affected countries may affect consumer demand, says the group on its outlook

 

HOME-GROWN electronics company Creative Technology saw its net loss widen to US$6.1 million for its first half of the year ended Dec 31, 2024, from US$4.1 million in the corresponding year-ago period.

 

This was despite net sales for the half-year period rising 18 per cent to US$37.4 million, from US$31.8 million in the corresponding period in the prior year.

 

The rise was mainly due to higher revenue from new speaker products, said the mainboard-listed company in a bourse filing on Friday (Feb 7).

 

Loss per share for the half-year came in at US$0.09, up from US$0.06 in the year-ago period.

 

No dividends were declared for the half-year, unchanged from the year before.

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the half-year period rose 7 per cent to US$11.6 million, from US$10.8 million previously.

 

Research and development expenses climbed 5 per cent to US$5 million, compared to US$4.8 million in the previous corresponding period.

 

Uncertainty over the import tariffs announced by the US, as well as potential retaliatory measures from the affected countries, may increase inflationary pressures and affect consumer demand, said the group.

 

That said, the company plans to introduce a broad range of new products, including speakers. These will position the company to drive revenue growth in the second half of FY2025, it said.

 

The group expects to record a higher revenue, an improvement in operating results and to report a lower operating loss in the second half.

Creative Technology has given notice that it has recorded pre-tax losses for its three most recently completed financial years in a row.

 

For FY2024 ended June, the group recorded a loss of US$10.8 million ($14.1 million), down 35% y-o-y from US$16.7 million in FY2023. 

 

As at Oct 9, Creative&rsquo s latest six-month average daily market capitalisation is at $91.9 million, above the $40 million minimum.

 

According to Rule 1311 of the Singapore Exchange S68 (SGX) listing manual, a listed company will be placed on the watch-list if they have reported pre-tax losses for the three most recent consecutive financial years and have an average daily market capitalization of less than $40 million over the past six months.

The company attributes this to foreign exchange losses, particularly the depreciation of the euro and yen against the US dollar

 

CREATIVE Technology posted a net loss of US$6.8 million for its second half ended Jun 30, up 10 per cent from a net loss of US$6.1 million over the same period a year earlier.

 

This was despite revenue for the period climbing 11 per cent to US$31 million, from US$28 million a year earlier.

 

Loss per share for the half year stood at US$0.10, compared with US$0.09 a year ago.

 

In its results release on Friday (Aug 23), Creative : C76 -4% said that US$1.2 million of losses was due mainly to foreign exchange losses. In particular, they resulted from the depreciation of currencies such as the euro and yen against the US dollar, but were partially offset by the appreciation of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar.

 

Still, the company noted that it was able to achieve a higher gross profit margin of 30 per cent for H2, compared with 29 per cent a year ago, due to higher margin contributions from newly launched products.

 

For the full year, the company narrowed its net loss by 35 per cent to US$10.8 million as revenue climbed 12 per cent to US$62.8 million.

 

No dividends have been recommended for H2 FY2024, as was the case for the same period in FY2023.

 

Creative said that the market remains challenging worldwide as middle-class consumers continue to be squeezed by inflation.

 

It added that its speaker business has grown in sales quantity and revenue as it enters the premium segment, and that its headphone category will be an important growth area as well.

 

&ldquo We are taking necessary action to consolidate and lower our cost structure to reach profitability sooner,&rdquo the company said.

 

&ldquo With the above efforts, for FY2025 and the first half year of FY2025, the group expects an improvement in revenue and operating results.&rdquo