An exceptional $6 million loss and higher tax hammered earnings at Singapore Post in the first quarter.

Net profit plunged 40.4 per cent to $18.7 million from the same period last year, dragged down mainly by exceptional fair value losses from warrants in an associated firm, the company said yesterday.

Revenue for the three months to June 30 rose 3.3 per cent to $372.6 million, driven by growth in international mail and property income.

Earnings per share came in at 0.66 cent, down from 1.22 cents a year earlier.

The board has declared an interim dividend of 0.5 cent a share, to be paid on Aug 31. Excluding one-off items, operating profit rose 1.2 per cent to $39.2 million.

Underlying net profit was down 9.8 per cent to $24.7 million, as the improved operating profit before exceptional items was offset by lower contributions from associates investing for growth, and increased tax.

Specifically, income tax expenses rose 38.8 per cent to $11.6 million, largely due to an additional provision for a foreign subsidiary.

In April, SingPost reclassified the reporting of its business units into four key segments - post and parcel, logistics, e-commerce and property.

Overall, the group continues to benefit from positive global e-commerce trends, with revenue from across the segments rising 8.8 per cent to make up 53.7 per cent of total revenue.

Property posted a 67.1 per cent increase in operating profit, due mainly to rental income from the SingPost Centre retail mall, where committed occupancy rose to 96.7 per cent as of June 30.

Chief executive Paul Coutts said: "As strong growth in global e-commerce drives cross-border and last-mile deliveries, we are focused on executing well to keep up our operational momentum as we transform SingPost for the future."

SingPost shares closed down 13 cents, or 9.4 per cent, to $1.25 yesterday after the release of its financial results.