Cortina posts 69% increase in 1Q earnings to $8.9 mil on higher sales

SINGAPORE (Aug 14): Cortina Holdings has reported earnings of $8.9 million for 1Q ended June, up 69% from $5.3 million for the same quarter last year.

Earnings per share for the quarter came in at 5.4 cents, up from 3.2 cents a year ago.

The improved bottomline was due primarily to the increase in revenue for the quarter, which grew 20% to $125.5 million from $104.5 million in the preceding year. Sales margin also increased to 26.6%, compared to 24.5% last year.

Operating expenses comprising staff costs, rental expenses, depreciation and other expenses, increased by $2.6 million. The higher operating expenses resulted from higher staff costs and credit card commission as result of higher sales revenue and higher stock and accessories write-off.

Rental expense for the quarter fell 85% to $1.0 million from $7.0 million the previous year.

The adoption of SFRS (I) 16 resulted in depreciation expense increasing approximately fivefold to $7.2 million, and finance costs surging 93% to $642,000 due to interest element of lease liabilities.

As at end June, cash and cash equivalents stood at S$85.2 million, represented mainly by short term cash balances.

In its outlook statement, Cortina says that aside from competitive market conditions, the state of the global economy will continue to have a bearing on its performance. The group also added that it expects to remain profitable barring unforeseen circumstances.

Shares at Cortina closed flat at $1.42 on Wednesday prior to the announcement of results.