A heavy Metro Holdings profit drop is largely due to mall closures, the company says.

The property development and investment group, which has established retail interests, achieved a net profit to S$9.8 million (US$7.27 million) for the three months ended June 30 –  down from $37.6 million in the previous quarter.

Revenue for the period also fell, by 25.4 per cent to $31.9 million, mainly because of a lower turnover with the closures of Metro Sengkang and Metro City Square. This saw the retail division’s revenue fall by $10 million to $30.2 million.

Overall, losses for the retail division grew to $0.9 million from $0.7 million.

Overall profit before tax dropped 74 per cent to $11.1 million, largely because of a one-off net gain of $38.1 million from the disposal of the group’s 50 per cent interest in the joint ventures owning EC Mall, Beijing.

Metro Holdings started out in 1957 as a textile store in Hong Kong, and has grown to become a property and retail group with China, Indonesia and Singapore as key markets. Its retail arm comprises three Metro department stores in Singapore and nine department stores in Indonesia.