Hong Leong Asia's Q1 earnings down 8.1%

Rising material costs hit industrial conglomerate Hong Leong Asia's earnings for the first quarter.

The firm said on Thursday that its net profit for the first quarter fell 8.1 per cent to $13.3 million from a year earlier.

Revenue for the first quarter rose 15.7 per cent to $1.25 billion.

A weaker property market in China led to lower consumer demand which caused its consumer products unit Xinfei to report a 16 per cent decline in revenue during the quarter.

The bottom line also took a hit because of the absence of a $2.9 million gain from the disposal of property in the same period last year.

Quarterly earnings per share was 3.55 cents, down from 3.86 cents a year earlier.

Net asset value as at March 31 was 224.09 cents, down from 225 cents as at Dec 31.

Hong Leong Asia's shares closed two cents down at $1.585 on Thursday.

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