Neo Group

Neo Group will be consolidating its operations in a new high-tech headquarters and catering hub, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year, it announced yesterday.

The company broke ground yesterday for an upcoming 10-storey building at 30B Quality Road that will span 300,000 sq ft and replace the group's current headquarters in Enterprise Road. Through the new integrated facility, the group will consolidate its central kitchens, offices, warehouses, logistics and storage facilities, and other food and beverage operations in one location.

This will result in "significant cost savings", said Neo Group founder, chairman and chief executive Neo Kah Kiat. The company said it was too preliminary to comment on the amount.

Mr Neo added that the improvements in operational efficiencies via automation would also boost production levels and "substantially reduce" demand for manpower. A spokesman said there would be "no significant changes" to manpower as the new facility is larger and has a higher production capacity than the existing one. The new headquarters will also house the group's corporate office and a new research and development centre.

Datapulse Technology

Datapulse Technology has posted a net loss of $336,000 in the second quarter, reversing from a net profit of $38.1 million in the same period a year earlier, in the absence of an exceptional gain on the sale of a leasehold property.

Revenue in the three months ended Jan 31 was $459,000, up 145.5 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Revenue comprised mainly revenue generated from sale of goods by the group's subsidiary Wayco of $380,000 and dividend income of $80,000 from investments.

After Datapulse's sale of its Tai Seng leasehold property in the previous financial year (which resulted in an exceptional gain of $44.6 million), all operations staff were retrenched and the group entered into a sale and purchase agreement to dispose all of its remaining Blu-Ray replication lines equipment used in the media storage business on July 25 last year.

Loss per share from continuing operations was 0.15 cent in the second quarter, compared with earnings per share of 19.54 cents in the same period a year earlier.

Net asset value per share was 35.91 cents as at Jan 31, down from 37.05 cents as at July 31 last year.