Isetan sinks into the red with $317,000 first-half loss on Covid-19 hit

The decrease was mainly due to the temporary closure of department stores and the general impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Japanese department store operator Isetan Singapore has sunk into the red with a net loss of $317,000 for its half year ended June 30, 2020, compared with a net profit of $1.6 million in the year-ago period.

This was mainly due to a decline in sales, as well as impairment loss on financial assets, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday (Aug 13).

Loss per share stood at 0.77 cent for the six-month period versus earnings per share of 3.82 cents a year earlier.

Revenue for its half year fell 39.6 per cent to $34 million, from $56.3 million a year ago. This was due to lower sale of goods from the retail segment, lower consignment income and a drop in rental income from its Isetan Wisma Atria investment property, the company said.

The decrease was mainly due to the temporary closure of department stores from April 7 to June 18 and the general impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the retail industry, coupled with discontinued operations for its Jurong East store in March this year, according to Isetan.

No dividend was declared for the half year, unchanged from last year.

Looking ahead, Isetan noted that the retail environment remains "very challenging" for the company and that a material recovery in business level is not expected for 2020.

Nonetheless, the Isetan Scotts renovation projection is on track for completion this year, and the firm remains "cautiously optimistic" that this will contribute positively towards its revenue upon completion.

Isetan shares closed at $2.96 on Thursday, up $0.06 or 2.1 per cent, before the results announcement.

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