SingPost H1 profit down 12.8% at S$19.7 million amid challenging operating environment

[SINGAPORE] Singapore Post (SingPost) posted a 12.8 per cent drop in net profit to S$19.7 million for its first half ended Sep 30, from S$22.6 million in the previous corresponding period.

This was mainly due to the lack of contributions from the divested Australia business in the prior period, which had offset the exceptional gains from other divestments in the half year, the postal service provider said in a regulatory filing on Monday (Nov 10).

Earnings per share from the continuing and discontinued operations excluding distributions to holders of perpetual securities stood at S$0.0063 for the period, down from S$0.0076 the previous year. The discontinued operations refer to the Australia logistics business under SingPost Australia Investments and its subsidiaries, as well as the freight forwarding business of Famous Holdings, Rotterdam Harbour Holdings and subsidiaries of Quantium Solutions.

Revenue for H1 for the continuing operations of logistics and letters, the post office network and property assets fell 27.4 per cent to S$188.4 million, from S$259.6 million a year earlier. This was due to a “challenging operating environment” for the logistics business, particularly in cross-border e-commerce delivery volumes, the filing read. The revenue including the continued and discontinued operations was S$992.4 million a year earlier.

An interim dividend of S$0.0008 per share was declared for the half year, down from S$0.0034 per share the year before. The dividend will be paid on Dec 5 this year, after books closure on Nov 25.

Shares of SingPost last traded at S$0.42 on Friday, up S$0.01 or 2.4 per cent, before the results were announced.