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FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE |
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The second half of FY2009 was a very challenging period for the Group.
What started off as the sub-prime problem snowballed into a global financial crisis that pushed many economies into recession.
For the financial year under review, the ongoing financial turmoil dampened demand for our parts, resulting in a 10.2%
decrease in sales of goods to $134.8 million for FY2009.
Despite the unfavourable business conditions, the Group managed to end FY2009 with a marginal increase of 3.5% in profit
attributable to equity holders of the Company to $11.5 million compared to FY2008. The increase was mainly attributable
to the net positive impact of the successful claim of Industial Building Allowance and the write-back of over-provision of
tax for previous years, which amounted to $1.6 million.
Consequently, the Group's total equity attributable to equity holders of the Company rose to $119.2 million at the end of FY2009;
up from $110.2 million a year ago.
Our priorities were to conserve cash and manage our inventory at an optimal level. Hence, inventory was reduced in line with lower sales projection.
Consequently, loans and borrowings decreased from $37.0 million to $27.9 million at the end of the financial year. Notwithstanding the
challenging operating climate, debt collection from customers had not been affected. As at 30 June 2009, cash and cash equivalents had increased by
$1.5 million to $19.6 million.
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| DIVIDENDS |
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In view of the Group's satisfactory performance, the Board has proposed a final dividend of 0.50 cent per share,
subject to shareholders' approval. Together with the interim dividend of 0.20 cent which was paid out in April 2009,
total dividend for FY2009 will amount to 0.70 cent per share or 26.7% of the FY2009 net profit attributable to equity holders
of the Company.
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| EARNINGS PER SHARE |
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Earnings per share for FY2009 was 2.63 cents based on 438,098,928 shares, compared with 2.75 cents for FY2008 based on the
weighted average number of 404,184,166 shares.
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PROSPECTS FOR YEAR 2010 |
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Although general market conditions and sentiments for the economies in South East Asia have picked up slightly, the economic
outlook for 2010 is likely to remain challenging.
However, the Group is financially strong, and our leading market position in Asia will allow us to capitalise on growth opportunities
as the global economy recovers.
We believe we have the experience, the focus and the drive to emerge out of this global crisis stronger than ever.
We will continue to focus our efforts on strategies aimed towards consistent profitability and sustainable growth.
Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on leveraging our sourcing abilities and broadening our product offerings.
We will also focus our efforts on expanding our current market share in more than 50 countries that we are distributing to,
and tap into other emerging markets in Asia. We will continue to seek synergistic investment opportunities to complement our
existing core business.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT |
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This has been a challenging year and I wish to express my deep
appreciation to our Board members for their invaluable contributions,
and especially to our late Independent Director, Mr Aw Kim Chen who passed
away in January 2009.
Mr Aw had served the Board well since our IPO in October 1996.
On behalf of the Board and the Management, I would like to express
our gratitude for his insightful contributions over the past
years.
On behalf of the Board, I take this opportunity to thank our shareholders for their support. Our appreciation also extends to our staff,
customers, suppliers and business partners for their continued support. I am confident that the solid foundation, strong partnerships
and competent team that we have built over the past four decades will help us ride out this turbulent period.
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Low Han Cheong
Chairman
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