Pan-United Corp's Q4 net profit jumps 37% to $12 million

Resource development and logistics group Pan-United Corporation said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net profit soared 37 per cent to $12 million.

Turnover for the three months to Dec 31 last year came in at $186.3 million, similar to that in the same period a year ago of $186.4 million.

Pan-United's full-year earnings rose less substantially, by 4 per cent to $44.6 million on the back of a 2 per cent rise in revenue to $727.4 million.

Higher sales volume for its cement and ready-mix concrete, as well as the higher utilisation of its Changshu Xinghua Port accounted for the growth in its topline.

Chief executive May Ng said in a statement: "The group has consistently re-invested its earnings to grow our core business for sustainable profit growth.

"The strong cashflow generated from our operations allow us to distribute higher dividends as our earnings grow...(and) we are pleased to propose a final dividend of 2.75 cents a share."

This brings the total dividend for the year to 4.25 cents apiece.

Full-year earnings per share stood at eight cents, up from 7.8 cents a year earlier, while net asset value per share was 48.8 cent as of Dec 31 last year, down from 57.5 cents a year earlier.

Pan-United expects its basic building resources division to gain from the demand for its cement and ready-mixed concrete in line with the Building Construction Authority's projections that construction output for the year will fall between $34 billion and $36 billion.

Its shares closed two cents, or 2.2 per cent, higher at 93 cents on Tuesday.

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