Food catering growth spurs record revenue, earnings at Neo Group

Strong growth in its food catering business led events caterer Neo Group to record-high levels of revenue and net profit for the year to Jan 31.

Revenue rose 25.6 per cent to $52.4 million while net profit more than doubled to $6.4 million, the Catalist-listed group said on Friday.

The group, whose brands include Neo Garden Catering, Orange Clove Catering and umisushi, said the number of guests it served in the year also hit a record of 2.5 million, up from 2.13 million the previous year.

Founder, chairman and chief executive Neo Kah Kiat also attributed the group's strong performance to higher productivity, having implemented measures to enhance the group's operational efficiency as well as a "highly effective" cost management system.

Mr Neo said the group plans to increase its kitchen capacity by up to four times to serve 15,000 to 20,000 guests a day.

Earnings per share were 4.44 cents for the year, up from 2.87 cents a year ago.

Net asset value per share was 14.2 cents as at Jan 31, compared with 12.1 cents the previous year.

Neo Group is proposing a final cash dividend of 1.51 cents a share, bringing its total dividends for the year to an all-time high of 2.67 cents a share.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.