| In July 2018, BRC Asia completed the 100% acquisition of Lee Metal Group Ltd for $199.3 million cash. The acquisition merged the strengths of BRC Asia, a steel prefabrication company, with industry peer Lee Metal. The initial benefits from the merger have delivered stronger gross and operating margins in FY2018 (ended Sept).  Steel products at BRC factory. NextInsight file photo. |
Key results:
• Revenue increased by 83% to S$567.0 million in FY2018, primarily attributable to the increased steel sales tonnage delivered and higher steel price, as well as contribution from Lee Metal.
|
Stock price |
$1.34 |
|
52-week |
$1.08 – $2.03 |
|
PE (ttm) |
25 |
|
Market cap |
$314 m |
|
Shares outstanding |
234 m |
|
Dividend |
0.75% |
|
1-year return |
49% |
|
Source: Bloomberg |
|
• Gross profit increased by 133% to S$45.1 million in FY2018, supported by the higher sales volume as well as the higher gross margin, which improved from 6.2% in FY2017 to 8.0% in FY2018.
• Operating expenses increased by 76% to S$31.1 million in FY2018, primarily due to one-off professional fees and finance costs incurred in relation to the acquisition of Lee Metal. Despite these one-off expenses, the Group’s operating profit margin improved from 1.0% in FY2017 to 2.8% in FY2018.
• Earnings from continuing operations of S$12.0 million in FY2018, an increase of 565%.
• Earnings per share in FY2018 was 5.57 Singapore cents, compared to 0.97 Singapore cents in FY2017.
BRC proposed a final dividend of 1 cent per share for FY2018.
| Mr. Seah Kiin Peng, CEO of the Group, said, “The acquisition of Lee Metal has proved to be a sensible strategy for BRC to stay resilient in a recovering market. Through streamlining operations and assets, we have started to improve our cost efficiency, offer better product and service to customers and realise the economies of scale. "Looking ahead, drawing on the talents of a collective, integrated team, we will explore ways to capitalise on BRC’s outstanding capabilities in prefabricated steel reinforcement in and beyond Singapore, further improve our financial performance, and continue to create value for our customers and shareholders.” |