LUXURY watch retailer Cortina : C41 0%posted a 22 per cent fall in net profit to S$30.2 million for its second half ended Mar 31, 2024, from S$38.6 million in the previous corresponding period.
The group said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday (May 28) evening that the lower profit was due to unfavourable exchange rate movements and increase in rental and renovation expenses due to major expansions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Earnings per share stood at 36.9 Singapore cents for the year, down from 46.2 cents the previous year.
With the latest set of earnings, Cortina proposed a final dividend of two Singapore cents per share, and a special dividend of 14 cents per share, for shareholders’ approval at the upcoming annual general meeting on Jul 26. The date payable will be announced later.
Meanwhile, revenue for the half year stayed unchanged at S$419.7 million from the year-ago period.
For the full year ended Mar 31, 2024, net profit was down 20 per cent to S$61.1 million, while revenue declined 2 per cent to S$811 million.
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The group attributed the fall in full-year revenue to “macroeconomic conditions, which continue to be difficult and uncertain”.
Cortina’s half-year operating expenses – comprising staff costs, rental expenses, depreciation and other expenses – rose 10.3 per cent year on year to S$93.2 million. For the full year, operating expenses nudged up 7.3 per cent to S$175.7 million.
Cortina’s move to open 15 new boutiques across the region was with a medium to longer-term view of business growth, it said.
In the short term, however, the uncertain global economic outlook may negatively affect consumer sentiment, it noted. Nevertheless, it expects to remain profitable in the coming year, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Shares of Cortina closed flat at S$3.22 on Tuesday before the announcement.
