Sing Investments & Finance has rung in a 10.1 per cent drop in third quarter net profit to $3 million.

Revenue for the three months to Sept 30 was up 7.4 per cent at $11.8 million.

Net loan assets grew 3.9 per cent to $1.48 billion.

In tandem with the increase in loan assets, deposits and savings accounts of customers increased by 0.8 per cent to $1.64 billion.

The group registered a net profit of $7.9 million for the nine months ended Sept 30, a decline of 18.8 per cent.

The weaker performance was mainly due to the continual compression of the interest margin, higher operating expenses and an increase in the allowances made for impairment losses on loans and advances.

Despite an increase in the loans base, net interest income and hiring charges increased by a marginal 0.1 per cent for the nine months as the current low interest rate environment coupled with the intense market competition continued to compress the interest margin.

Operating expenses increased by 16.5 per cent due to an increase in business costs and a one-time reversal of staff costs in the previous period due to overprovision.

The group continues to maintain adequate individual and collective impairment allowances in respect of its loan portfolio.

Annualised earnings per share slipped to 7.61 cents from 11.75 cents previously while net asset value per share fell to $1.92 compared to $2 as at Dec 31.