Sheng Siong Group reports 9.3% rise in net profit for Q4
Supermarket chain Sheng Siong Group reported a 9.3 per cent rise in net profit to $16.8 million for the fourth quarter, as grants gave a boost to its bottom line.
Earnings per share (EPS) stood at 1.12 cents, up from 1.02 cents in the same period in 2016.
Sheng Siong received $2.6 million in government grants in the fourth quarter, more than thrice the $725,000 it received in the previous corresponding quarter.
The higher net profit was also due to higher revenue and gross profit, improved gross margin and tax refunds.
Revenue for the three months ended Dec 31 increased 1.7 per cent to $200.3 million, while gross profit margin was up 0.2 percentage point to 26.5 per cent.
It is proposing a final dividend of 1.75 cents a share, bringing the total dividend to 3.3 cents.
For the full year ended Dec 31, Sheng Siong's net profit rose 11.4 per cent to $69.8 million. Full-year EPS amounted to 4.64 cents, up from 4.17 cents in 2016.
Revenue was up 4.2 per cent at $830 million from the year before. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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