SINGAPORE – Yoma Strategic’s net loss widened to US$32.7 million (S$44.2 million) for the second half-year ended March 31, from US$14.8 million in the previous year.
This came amid an increase in net fair value losses and impairment losses for its mixed-use development, Yoma Central, which is still under construction. Higher interest expenses at Yoma Central, rising London interbank offered rates for the US dollar and currency translation losses on its baht-denominated bonds also added to finance costs.
The results translated to a loss per share (LPS) of 1.47 US cents for the same period, compared with an LPS of 0.67 US cent.
Myanmar-focused Yoma Strategic has businesses in areas such as real estate, food and beverage, automotive, financial services and investment.
Revenue for the second half rose 126.1 per cent year on year to US$82.7 million from US$36.6 million. This was mainly due to record home sales, food and beverage sales, and the completion of the Wave Money acquisition.
Wave Money, which comes under the group’s financial service segment, became a subsidiary of the group in December 2022. It contributed US$19.7 million towards the group’s revenue from December 2022 to March 2023.
No dividend was declared for the period, unchanged from the previous year.
For the full year ended March, net loss was US$41.2 million, while revenue was US$123.6 million.
While the business environment in Myanmar has experienced gradual growth over the past quarters, the group noted that challenges such as regulatory changes, US dollar availability, inflationary pressures and persistent electricity outages remain.
“The group remains cautiously optimistic about its business prospects in the next six to 12 months and will focus on continuing to improve profitability and cash flow across all businesses, with an emphasis on sustaining growth in its real estate and mobile financial services businesses,” it said.
Shares of Yoma Strategic were trading up 4.1 per cent to 10.1 cents on Thursday morning after the earnings announcement, but closed at 10 cents, up 3.1 per cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES
