Koh Brothers Group has reported higher revenue of $196.6 million for 1HFY2023, as it booked more sales from its property development activities.

 

However, the company, which started in construction, suffered from higher costs in labour and materials. It also did not benefit from one-off disposal gains recognised in the year earlier period.

 

As such, the company has reported a loss of $16 million for 1HFY2023, versus earnings of $5 million for the year earlier.

 

As at June 30, the company' s net asset value per share was 65.84 cents, vs 70.04 cents as at Dec 31 2022.

 

&ldquo We are focusing on recovering the cost of performing the variation orders from customers while also closely monitor the progress and cost for our projects,&rdquo says managing director and group CEO Francis Koh.

 

Going forward, Koh Brothers expects the construction divisision, which has an order book of $650.7 million, and the real estate division, to both remain challenging, no thanks to an increasingly competitive environment, high interest rates, energy, material, manpower, operating and development costs.

 

In its separate announcement, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, a separately-listed subsidiary of Koh Brothers Group, has similarly reported a loss as well.

 

For its 1HFY2023, Koh Brothers Eco reported a loss of $9.6 million, vs earnings of $1.2 million in the year earlier period.

 

Revenue was down 12% y-o-y to $90.1 million from lower revenue recognition from its on-going construction projects, most of which were near completion.

 

Koh Brothers closed at 14 cents on Aug 4, unchanged for the day, and up 3.57% year to date.

 

SUSTAINABLE engineering solutions provider Koh Brothers Eco Engineering posted a 7 per cent increase in net profit to S$2.2 million for the full year ended Dec 31, 2022, up from S$2 million in the year-ago period, according to a Wednesday (Jan 25) bourse filing.

 

This was on the back of higher revenues &ndash up 15.9 per cent to S$209.4 million &ndash with both the engineering and construction, and bio-refinery and renewable energy segments seeing growth, the Catalist-listed company said.

 

For the half year, net profit was up 20.6 per cent to S$1 million, while revenue was 51.2 per cent higher at S$107.5 million.

 

For FY2022, earnings per share stood at 0.08 Singapore cent, the same as in the year-ago period.

 

&ldquo Notably, our bio-refinery and renewable energy sector has seen good traction, backed by robust growth of the global palm oil industry and Oiltek&rsquo s deep engineering expertise and value-add to its customers,&rdquo said chief executive officer Paul Shin. The segment posted a 62 per cent revenue increase from the corresponding year-ago period.

 

A final dividend of 0.025 Singapore cent per share was recommended for the year, the same as the corresponding period in the previous year, for shareholders&rsquo approval at the upcoming annual general meeting. The date payable will be announced later.

 

Koh Brothers Group announced 13% y-o-y decline in net profit to $6 million for the 12 months to Dec 31, 2022, the company&rsquo s FY2022. This is despite a 72% rise in revenue to 39% to $350.7 million and a 21% increase in gross profit to $26.0 million for the same period.

 

Gross margins improved for Koh Brothers&rsquo Construction and Building Materials division.

 

The company posted a 74% increase in other gains to $15.0 million in FY 2022, mainly due to higher gain recognised from the disposal of property, plant and equipment. Share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures declined 46% to $1.6 million in FY 2022due to lower contribution from an investment property resulting from higher borrowing costs.

 

Net asset value per share was 70.04 cents as at Dec 31 2022, up from 69.61 cents a year ago.

 

A first and final dividend of 0.2 cents was declared. Koh Brothers closed at $0.147, up $0.004 from Jan 19.

 

CONSTRUCTION, property development and specialist engineering solutions provider Koh Brothers Group has posted a 151 per cent increase in net profit to S$5.0 million for the first half ended June 2022 from a S$2.0 million net profit in the year-ago period.

 

Revenue for the 6-month period rose 13 per cent to S$158.9 million &mdash driven mainly by increased construction activities and sales of its Van Holland private residential project in Singapore, the group said on Saturday (Aug 6).

 

The group saw a 18 per cent increase in other gains to S$7.9 million in H1 2022, mainly due to higher gain recognised from the disposal of property, plant and equipment, and partially offset by lower fair value gain from investment properties.

 

However, share of profit of associated companies and joint ventures fell 20 per cent to S$1.2 million in H1 2022 this was due mainly to the absence of contribution from a property development project in South Korea that was completed last year.

 

Earnings per share rose to 1.21 cents for H1 2022 from 0.48 cent in H1 2021. Net asset value per share rose to 70.31 cents as at Jun 30, 2022 from 69.61 cents as at Dec 31, 2021.

 

The counter ended 4.43 per cent higher on Friday at 16.5 Singapore cents.

 

Koh Brothers&rsquo managing director and group CEO, Francis Koh, said: &ldquo We are pleased with our top and bottomline improvements, well-supported by both our construction and building materials, and real estate divisions.

 

&ldquo We have seen a gradual recovery in construction activity since last year, and supported by the relaxation of border restrictions on the inflow of manpower.&rdquo

 

On the group&rsquo s property development business, Koh said: &ldquo As an established, niche boutique property developer, we will continue to prudently look for opportunities to develop unique &lsquo lifestyle-and-theme&rsquo projects, either independently or through partnerships with experienced partners.&rdquo

 

There will be no interim dividend as was the case for H1 2021.

 

Separately, the group&rsquo s Catalist-listed sustainable engineering solutions unit, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, posted a 2 per cent dip in net profit to S$1.17 million for H1 2022 from S$1.20 million in H1 2021. Revenue slipped 7 per cent to S$101.9 million this was mainly due to decrease in revenue recognition from the engineering and construction division.

 

FOR the 5 trading sessions that spanned Jun 17 to 23, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.2 per cent, with the FTSE China A50 Index gaining 2.8 per cent, the Hang Seng Index adding 2.5 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI falling 2.7 per cent. 

 

Overall, institutions were net buyers of Singapore stocks over the 5 sessions with S$116 million of net inflow, following S$166 million of net outflow for the preceding 5 sessions. DBS, : D05 -0.13% Singtel, : Z74 +1.98% CapitaLand Investment, : 9CI +1.85% Digital Core Reit : DCRU -2.94% and Hongkong Land : H78 -0.2% led the net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions through to Jun 23.

 

Share buybacks

 

There were 27 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 5 sessions ended Jun 23, with a total consideration of S$64.6 million, approximately half the previous week&rsquo s consideration tally. Wilmar International : F34 +0.75% and Keppel Corporation : BN4 +0.61% again led the consideration tally, buying back shares at average prices of S$4.02, and S$6.59 respectively.

 

Director and substantial shareholder transactions

 

The 5 trading sessions saw 70 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for 35 primary-listed stocks. This included 15 company director acquisitions with 3 disposals filed, while substantial shareholders filed 11 acquisitions and 3 disposals.

 

United Hampshire US Reit

 

On Jun 20 and 22, United Hampshire US Reit Management non-independent non-executive director David Tuvia Goss acquired 500,000 units of United Hampshire US Reit (UHReit) : ODBU 0% at an average price of 60.9 US cents per unit. With a consideration of US$304,650 this took his direct interest in UHReit to 0.09 per cent.

 

UHReit is the first US grocery-anchored shopping centre and self-storage Reit to list in Singapore, and back in May reported Q1 2022 (ended Mar 31) distributable income of US$8.1 million, 7.9 per cent higher than Q1 2021.

 

Goss is the managing director of UOB Global Capital since September 1998. Prior to co-founding UOB Global Capital, he was president and CEO of AIG Asset Management Services in New York from March 1995, with global responsibility for AIG&rsquo s third-party asset management activities. UHReit completed its inaugural acquisitions of Colonial Square on Nov 12, 2021 and Penrose Plaza on Nov 24, 2021, with both acquisitions contributing positively to Q1 2022 distributable income.

 

Oiltek International

 

On Jun 20, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering acquired 1 million shares of Oiltek International : HQU 0% at 23.0 cents per share. The married deal increased non-executive director Koh Keng Siang&rsquo s total interest in the integrated process and renewable energy solutions provider from 67.44 per cent to 68.14 per cent. Koh has been a non-executive director of the subsidiaries, Oiltek Sdn Bhd and Oiltek Global Energy Sdn Bhd since February 2013. He is the managing director and group CEO of Koh Brothers Group, which is the ultimate controlling shareholder of Oiltek International through its shareholding interest in Koh Brothers Eco Engineering.

 

Listed on Catalist, Oiltek International operates 3 key businesses &ndash the edible & non-edible oil refinery segment, renewable energy segment, and product sales and trading segment. Oiltek International&rsquo s revenue for FY21 (ended Dec 31) grew 15.0 per cent to RM100.63 million from FY20, mainly due to new projects secured in FY21 for the group&rsquo s edible & non-edible oil refinery segment.

 

Hong Fok Corporation

 

On Jun 17, Hong Fok Corporation : H30 0% executive director and joint CEO Cheong Pin Chuan acquired 201,800 shares of the company, for a consideration of S$187,665 at 93.0 cents per share. This increased his total interest in the property developer from 20.64 per cent to 20.66 per cent. He is principally involved in the group&rsquo s overall operations and management with greater emphasis in Hong Kong and has over 50 years of experience in property development at both management and board levels in Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

PropNex

 

Between Jun 16 and 17, PropNex : OYY -0.65% executive director Kelvin Fong Keng Seong acquired 101,100 shares of the company, at an average price of S$1.63 per share. This took his deemed interest in PropNex from 8.71 per cent to 8.73 per cent. His preceding acquisitions were between May 24 and 26, with 300,000 shares acquired at S$1.70 per share. Fong has gradually increased his deemed interest in PropNex from 7.63 per cent in February 2019.

 

Fong oversees the group&rsquo s training development curriculum and also administers the development of IT strategies and technology innovations to improve the group&rsquo s competitive edge in the industry. For its Q1 FY22 (ended Mar 31), PropNex reported that revenue grew 9.5 per cent year on year to S$241.6 million, with net profit declining 8.1 per cent year on year to S$14.9 million.

 

The company, which is Singapore&rsquo s largest listed real estate agency noted that its Q1 FY22 was impacted by the government&rsquo s new cooling measures, growing uncertainties arising from the Russian-Ukraine war, concerns over rising inflation and interest rates dampening sentiment, while limited new launches and the seasonal lull reined in sales volumes.

 

Looking forward, PropNex noted in May that it expects the private housing market to remain fairly resilient this year and prices could grow by 3 per cent to 5 per cent in 2022, as reflected in the 0.7 per cent price increase in Q1 2022 and higher new launch prices expected in subsequent quarters. The company also highlighted that it is well on its way to attaining its goal of having 12,000 salespersons by end 2022. It has already achieved a growth of 26.4 per cent in the number of salespersons from 8,918 as at Jan 1, 2021 to 11,268 as at Apr 11, 2022.

 

Singapore Shipping Corporation

 

Between Jun 16 and 21, Singapore Shipping Corporation : S19 0% executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat acquired 225,400 shares at an average price of 28.4 cents per share. With a consideration of S$63,948, this increased his total stake in the company from 41.92 per cent to 41.97 per cent. With a career spanning 60 years, Ow also serves as the executive chairman of Stamford Land Corporation. Singapore Shipping Corporation is a spin-off from Stamford Land Corporation (formerly known as Hai Sun Hup Group) when the latter de-merged its shipping and logistics businesses in 2000 to concentrate on its hotel and property businesses.

 

On May 26, Singapore Shipping Corporation reported that its revenue for FY22 (ended Mar 31) increased 8.6 per cent from FY21, with attributable profit down 4.3 per cent from FY21.

 

Centurion Corporation

 

Between Jun 17 and 23, Centurion Corporation : OU8 +1.43% executive director and joint chairman David Loh Kim Kang acquired 200,000 shares of the purpose-built accommodation developer and manager for a consideration of S$70,000. At 35.0 cents per share, this took his total interest from 55.40 per cent to 55.43 per cent. His preceding acquisitions were between May 20 and 26, with 1,860,400 shares also acquired at 35.0 cents per share.

 

Uni-Asia Group

 

On Jun 23, Uni-Asia Group : CHJ +2% executive chairman Michio Tanamoto acquired 50,000 shares at S$1.00 per share. This increased his total interest in the company from 3.44 per cent to 3.50 per cent. This closely followed his acquisition of 150,000 shares at S$1.04 per share on Jun 13 and 50,000 shares at S$S$1.09 per share on Jun 9. Tanamoto was appointed the executive chairman of Uni-Asia Group in April 2020.

 

Sasseur Reit

 

On Jun 17, Sasseur Asset Management CEO Cecilia Tan Hong Lye acquired 22,000 units of Sasseur Reit : CRPU +0.65% at an average price of 73.8 cents per unit. This increased her direct interest in the first outlet mall Reit to be listed in Asia to 40,000 units. Tan has been the CEO of the manager of Sasseur Reit since Aug 1, 2021. She has more than 20 years of professional career experience spanning across a wide spectrum of real estate expertise in real estate investment banking, real estate direct investment, Reit management, real estate fund management and property development.

 

Prior to joining Sasseur Asset Management, she was the senior strategic adviser to Vito Xu, the chairman of Sasseur Group from July 2019 to June 2021.

 

Back on May 12, Sasseur Reit reported a record high Q1 (ended Mar 31) distributable income of S$24.7 million, which was up 4.7 per cent from Q1 2021.

Koh Brothers Eco Engineering Limited announced today that it has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering (KBCE), signed a contract with Meiden Singapore, a subsidiary of Meidensha Corporation, to implement its ceramic membrane technology to treat industrial used water at Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2022.

 

KBCE&rsquo s agreement with Meiden Singapore is part of the $200.7 million contract that the Public Utilities Board (PUB) had awarded to the group in October 2021, to carry out mechanical, electrical and instrumentation control and automation works for Industrial Liquids Module 1 at Tuas Water Reclamation Plant (Tuas WRP).

 

KBCE is involved in the construction of the treatment process from preliminary, primary to secondary treatment, including headworks screening, primary sedimentation, biological treatment, drainage pumping station, and major pipe racks under the scope of work.

 

Upon completion, Tuas WRP will offer the world&rsquo s largest industrial used water treatment facility using ceramic membrane technology by Meiden Singapore to reclaim industrial used water, with a daily treatment capacity of 75,000m3. This project which commenced in November 2021, is expected to be completed by December 2025. Operation and Maintenance services will follow, covering a period of 12 months.

 

To recap, Koh Brothers Eco Engineering&rsquo s expertise in water and wastewater treatment has been observed in past projects including the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant and the Tuas WRP Contract 2A &ndash Influent Pumping Stations.

 

Francis Koh, chairman of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering says, &ldquo This will enhance our position to secure more MEICA projects in the future, underscored by our solid track record and tapping on our core competencies and expertise.&rdquo

 

&ldquo Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on higher value projects by leveraging our strong track record, expertise and embracing technology and innovation to enhance productivity and our competitive edge,&rdquo he adds.

 

Koh Brothers Eco Engineering has reported earnings of $836,000 for 2HFY2021 ended Dec 2021, down 55% y-o-y.

 

Revenue in the same period was $71.1 million, down 41% y-o-y.

 

For the full FY2021 ended Dec 2021, the company reported earnings of $2.04 million, reversing from a loss of $11.8 million. Revenue was down 1% to $180.6 million.

 

The company plans to pay a dividend of 0.025 cents per share. It didn&rsquo t pay any for FY2020.

Paul Shin, the company&rsquo s CEO, says the company is enjoying &ldquo good momentum&rdquo of its &ldquo gradual recovery&rdquo seen in FY2021. 

 

A recently secured order of $200.7 million from PUB for works at the Industrial Liquids Module 1 at the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant has lifted the company&rsquo s total order book to $775 million as at Dec 31 2021.

 

Koh Brothers Group, which is in construction and property development, has reported earnings of $4.9 million for 2HFY2021 ended Dec 2021, up 67% y-o-y. 

 

Revenue in the same period was down 20% y-o-y to $111.7 million.

Earnings for the whole of FY2021 was $6.9 million. For FY2020, it made a loss of $14.8 million. Revenue was up 4% y-o-y to $252.6 million.

 

A big chunk of the company&rsquo s earnings was lifted by fair value gains on investment properties. Its &ldquo other gains&rdquo increased by a total of 178% to $8.7 million. 

The bottomline was further helped by a drop of 10.4% in impairment made and also lower financing costs.

 

Francis Koh, managing director and CEO calls FY2021 a &ldquo ray of hope after the storm&rdquo . 

&ldquo However, we are mindful of the uncertainties that the construction industry will continue to face in the wake of the Omicron variant,&rdquo he says.

 

&ldquo In addition to the impact of the manpower shortages and labour costs brought about by the existing border control measures, the rising prices of construction materials will also affect the pace of recovery of the industry,&rdquo adds Koh.

The company&rsquo s construction order book has hit $775 million.

 

Following the recent set of property cooling measures, Koh Brothers expect the private residential market to &ldquo remain challenging&rdquo and will &ldquo remain cautious and selective in replenishing its land bank going forward.&rdquo

 

The company plans to pay a final dividend of 0.2 cent per share. It didn&rsquo t pay any this timelast year.

MAINBOARD-listed construction player Koh Brothers Group posted a net profit of S$2 million for the six months ended June 30, reversing from a net loss of S$17.8 million in the preceding year, on the construction industry' s road to recovery.

 

This came on the back of a 35 per cent hike in revenue to S$141.0 million, up from S$104.1 million in 2020, thanks to a pick-up in business activity for its construction and building materials division.

 

However, the share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures declined 63 per cent to S$1.5 million in the first-half, on lower contribution from a property development project in South Korea. The project was completed in the second half of 2020.

 

Earnings per share stood at 0.48 Singapore cents for the first half, reversing from a loss per share of 4.30 cents in the year earlier. Net asset value per share was 69.53 Singapore cents as at June 30.

 

Penta-Ocean Construction completed its subscription for 810 million shares of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering on June 8.

 

The issue price of 4.7 cents per share was 31 per cent higher than the volume weighted average price of 3.6 cents per share for the Catalist-listed company on March 12, which was the preceding full market day prior to the signing of the subscription agreement.

 

Penta-Ocean Construction now maintains a 28.75 per cent direct interest in of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering.

 

The subscription reduced Koh Brothers Group' s direct interest in Koh Brothers Eco Engineering from 76.94 per cent to 54.82 per cent.

 

This saw the deemed interest of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering non-executive and non-independent chairman Francis Koh Keng Siang similarly reduced. Mr Koh' s total interest in Koh Brothers Eco Engineering is now 55.29 per cent.

 

Koh Brothers Eco Engineering has signalled that the subscription enables the group to expand its existing suite of capabilities to leverage on the growth in public sector construction activities in Singapore.

 

The company noted that it intends to further deliberate on the group' s strategy in due course, which may include bidding for more capital-intensive projects and other potential growth opportunities.

 

Koh Brothers Eco Engineering provides engineering, procurement and construction services for infrastructure, water and wastewater treatment, building, bio-refinery and renewable energy projects.

 

Mr Koh also serves as the managing director and group CEO of Koh Brothers Group where he has held various positions in administration, finance and project management since 1987.

 

Mr Koh was the main driving force behind the expansion of Koh Brothers Group into real estate and leisure & hospitality, and credited with spearheading the business to establish its brand name in Singapore.

 

In 2020, the Singapore construction sector was one of the most adversely impacted sectors by necessary Covid-19 containment measures.

 

With the gradual resumption of construction activities, revenue for the sustainable engineering solutions group in H2FY20 (ended Dec 31) saw a marked improvement of 32 per cent compared to H1FY20.

 

Correspondingly, net profit attributable to shareholders in H2FY20 was S$1.9 million, a turnaround from the net loss of S$13.6 million reported in H1FY20.

PENTA-OCEAN Construction will be buying 810 million new ordinary shares of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering at S$0.047 per share, in a move for the sustainable-engineering solutions provider to strengthen its financial position to bid for higher value and more capital-intensive projects.

 

The Catalist-listed engineering company, in a regulatory statement on Monday, announced that the potential new investor, Japan-listed Penta-Ocean, will subscribe for 25.06 per cent to 28.84 per cent of the enlarged issued capital, the exact shareholding depending on whether outstanding warrants and employee stock awards are exercised or vested.

 

The net proceeds will amount to approximately S$36.87 million, with the investment to strengthen Koh Brothers Eco Engineering' s financial position, so that it can bid for more capital-intensive projects and pursue potential growth opportunities.

 

Koh Brothers Group, after the subscription by Penta-Ocean, will remain the largest shareholder of Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, with a stake of between 54.54 per cent and 54.99 per cent of the enlarged issued capital.

 

The deal is subject to approval from the Singapore Exchange to list the new shares, as well as shareholders of Koh Brothers Group and Koh Brothers Eco Engineering at separate extraordinary general meetings.

 

Between Sept 7 and 9, Koh Brothers Group managing director & group CEO Koh Keng Siang acquired 139,100 shares for a consideration of S$21,618.

 

At 15.50 cents per share, this increased his total interest in the listed company from 21.78 per cent to 21.81 per cent.

 

Mr Koh has been with the group since 1987 and has held various positions in administration, finance and project management.

 

He was the main driving force behind the expansion of the group' s business into real estate and leisure & hospitality.

 

Mr Koh is credited with spearheading the group to establish its brand name in Singapore as a builder of quality homes.