Singapore department-store operator Metro Holdings has reported a drop in net profit of 82 per cent, to just US$8.1 million, in the second half of this year, in the wake of the Covid-19 impact on trading and a store closure.
Total revenue, including the company’s property invetment division, fell by 14.6 per cent in the half year to $58.6 million.
However the retail division was hit extremely hard, with turnover down by 33.9 per cent to $33.9 million after the closure of the chain’s Centrepoint store (pictured above) in October – which was replaced by Decathlon – as well as the restricted trading hours of remaining stores during the pandemic.
Revenue from the property division was up by 42.3 per cent to $24.7 million, boosted by the sale of development rights for rtesidential projects in Bintaro and Bekasi in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Full-year net profit was down by 66.5 per cent to $23.2 million on sales up 22 per cent to $151.2 million.