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Monday, April 12, 2010

Lian Beng’s nine-month net profit jumps 52% to $17.4m

LIAN Beng Group yesterday posted a towering 52 per cent increase in nine-month net profit to $17.4 million, from $11.4 million a year earlier.

Revenue for the nine months ended Feb 28, 2010, climbed 4.5 per cent from $230.1 million to $240.5 million.

The company had earlier posted revenue of $157.6 million and net profit of $11.3 million for the six months ended Nov 30, 2009. Assuming no restatement of six-month figures, this would mean Lian Beng seeing a third-quarter net profit of $6.1 million (up 129 per cent year-on-year) on revenue of $8.29 million (up 4.7 per cent).

Besides higher gross profit margins, other operating income also boosted the nine-month bottom line, rising 50.4 per cent year-on-year to $3 million, mostly from gains on the disposal of plant and equipment, and sale of investment property, as well as from interest received from an affiliate.

On the balance sheet front, the group’s total borrowings for the nine-month period decreased from $119.9 million to $104.6 million mainly due to lower bank borrowings and an increase in repayment of existing borrowings.

Its cash reserves were also shored up both by lower borrowings and higher profits, rising $43.1 million to $49.8 million as at Feb 28.

The group’s outlook for the private residential market is a buoyant one.

‘The strong positive response to recent private residential property launches in Singapore is expected to drive private residential sector demand for construction services over the next 12 months,’ the group stated yesterday.

Last month, Lian Beng won three building contracts worth $317 million for the construction of Dakota Crescent, Centro Residences and The Laurels – all of which are private residential developments.

Including these contracts, the group’s order book stood at $850 million on March 31.

In an update on its lawsuit against Manhattan Resources Ltd for an outstanding debt of $9.4 million, the group said: ‘The company’s legal counsel has advised that the company’s chances of success in this case remain favourable . . . (so) the group has not made a provision for the doubtful debt owed by Manhattan.’

Earnings per share for the group stood at 3.28 cents for the nine-month period, up from 2.16 cents for the corresponding period the year before.

Source : Business Times – 9 Apr 2010

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