MAINBOARD-listed housing operator Centurion Corp on Tuesday saw profits slip by 10 per cent to S$9.13 million for its second quarter ended June 30, on the back of additional costs incurred to manage the Covid-19 situation in workers' accommodation.

Revenue slipped 5 per cent to S$31.1 million in the second quarter, mainly due to the impact from the early lease termination allowed for student accommodation in the UK starting from May 1; it was also due to lower occupancy in dwell Village Melbourne City (formerly known as RMIT Village) in Australia, resulting from movement restrictions imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.

For the half-year, profits went up 16 per cent to S$21.01 million, mostly attributed to higher contributions from the new properties and lower interest expenses.

Meanwhile, revenue for the half-year ticked up 4 per cent to S$66.59 million, on revenue contribution from the new properties such as Westlite Juniper in Singapore, dwell Archer House in the UK as well as dwell East End Adelaide in Australia.

Earnings per share for the half-year was 2.50 Singapore cents, up from 2.15 cents a year ago.

No dividend was declared this time around, compared with 1.0 cent previously as the group intends to conserve its cash resources in view of the "unprecedented economic condition and uncertainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic".

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Kong Chee Min, the company's chief executive, said: "Even as countries start to relax pandemic management measures, the full impact of Covid-19 on economies and businesses remains to be seen. To mitigate anticipated business impact from the pandemic's knock-on effects on the wider economy, we are focused on strengthening our operating and management capabilities and efficiencies while taking steps to conserve cash."

In its outlook for the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) segment, the group believes that the education and student accommodation sector is resilient, and that pent-up demand will drive a fast recovery for PBSA properties once on-campus programmes and travel normalise.

In the purpose-built workers accommodation business, the group said that it has been working closely with the government and employers to manage the migrant worker residents through the quarantine and movement restrictions period in Singapore.

"In the long term, we remain confident in the fundamentals of our business and the resilience of our strategic asset classes," added Mr Kong.