SINGAPORE, Nov. 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Courts Asia Limited ("Courts Asia" and together with its subsidiaries, "the Group") (阁室亚洲有限公司), one of the leading electrical products, IT products and furniture retailers in Singapore and Malaysia, delivered strong financial performance in its maiden quarterly results report, less than a month after its October 15 trading debut on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.
Net profit surged 45.5% to S$15.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012 ("2Q 2013"), compared to S$10.9 million in the last corresponding period ("2Q 2012"), achieved on the back of year-on-year sales growth of 12.7%, which increased to S$215.8 million in 2Q 2013.
Gross profit in 2Q 2013 increased by 18.7% to S$73.3 million. The gross profit margin rose from 32.3% to 34.0%, driven by higher earned service charge from credit sales and higher net merchandise gross profit.
Courts Asia's Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Terence Donald O'Connor (泰利, 欧康纳), said: "We are pleased to deliver a strong set of results soon after our SGX-ST listing. The opening of two new stores in Bukit Timah and Clementi in Singapore bolstered our sales growth. We saw a significant increase in digital products in Malaysia, which came from the sales of tablets and smartphones, namely Samsung and Apple. This was partly because we were able to capitalise on the competitive position we secured this March as Apple's Tier 1 dealer in Malaysia."
Outlook
"Despite the uncertain global economic situation, with our established market position supported by a large and loyal customer base, we believe that we will still be on track with our growth plans," Mr O'Connor said.
In September just before its listing, Courts Asia opened a new store in Buona Vista in Singapore. The Group targets to open a store in calendar year 2013 at JEM retail mall in Jurong, Singapore.
The Group is expecting the opening of three new stores in Malaysia in the second half of its financial year. It is also targeting to open its first store in eastern Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2014.
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The IPO of Courts Asia's shares was sponsored by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Singapore, who assumes no responsibility for the contents of this announcement.