SINGAPORE - Supermarket chain Sheng Siong on Feb 27 reported a 3.6 per cent rise in net profit to $68.3 million for the second half of 2023, from $65.9 million in the year-ago period.

This comes as the group doubled its finance income in the half year to $5.8 million, from $2.9 million in the same period a year ago.

Sheng Siong said it generated higher interest income from placing more cash in fixed deposits at higher interest rates.

Staff costs, utilities and other expenses rose $9.1 million on the half year, however.

Second-half revenue, meanwhile, rose 2.2 per cent to $677.2 million, from $662.7 million in the year before, on the opening of six new stores in financial year 2022 and FY2023 in Singapore.

Earnings per share for the half year was 4.54 cents, up from 4.38 cents.

The board thus proposed a final one-tier cash dividend of 3.2 cents per share, higher than the 3.07-cent-per-share dividend announced in the previous year.

The dividend will be paid on May 17, if approved by shareholders at an annual general meeting to be held on April 25, the group declared.

With the final dividend, the group’s total dividend for the year would come up to 6.25 cents per share, higher than FY2022’s 6.22 cents, it noted. This takes into account the interim dividend of 3.05 cents per share, which the company has already paid out.

For the full year ended Dec 31, 2023, Sheng Siong’s net profit was up 0.3 per cent on the year to $133.7 million, while its revenue climbed 2.1 per cent to $1.4 billion.

These were as operating profit after tax came in at $134 million, higher than the previous year’s operating profit of $133.6 million.

Staff costs in FY2023, in particular, rose $6.6 million as the company raised salaries in FY2022 in response to the tight labour market. Utility expenses for the year grew $13.8 million as the group had to renew its electricity supply agreement at the prevailing market rate at the end of FY2022, the group added.

Meanwhile, new stores bumped up total sales slightly, by 2.5 per cent, while the closure of the Yishun Central store in July 2022 due to lease expiry caused sales to fall 0.3 per cent.

As at Dec 31, 2023, Sheng Siong ran 69 stores in Singapore, and five stores in China, up a total of three stores from a year ago.

Shares of Sheng Siong closed flat at $1.56 on Feb 27, before the results’ release. THE BUSINESS TIMES