SEAFOOD restaurant operator Jumbo Group reversed into the black in the fiscal first half from the year before, with the return of events and inbound tourism, the company said on Friday (May 12).

Net profit for the six months ended Mar 31, 2023, stood at S$7.9 million, reversing from a net loss of S$4.5 million posted the same period a year ago. 

The results translate to earnings per share of 1.2 Singapore cents, against a loss per share of 0.7 Singapore cent.

Revenue was up 73.3 per cent to S$85.9 million, from S$49.6 million in the previous year. 

This comes as the lifting of Covid-19 measures in Singapore brought its Singapore operations revenue to S$70.2 million, an increase of 133.6 per cent from S$30 million seen in the year-ago half year, the group said.

However, it reported a 11.2 per cent drop in revenue from its Taiwan operations to S$2.4 million. The group said this is a result of a one-week shutdown of operations at its Taipei outlet for renovation.

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Meanwhile, its cost of sales, which comprised raw materials and consumables, rose by 58.8 per cent to $29.1 million. But the group said this was in line with the revenue increase.

Employee benefits expenses also increased by 44.6 per cent to S$26.6 million on increases in headcount, basic pay and bonuses, while operating lease expenses almost quadrupled to S$3.1 million on higher variable rent resulting from higher revenue.

As for its “other income” segment, Jumbo noted a 181.8 per cent increase to S$3.7 million in the half year, due to various grants from the Singapore government amounting to S$2.1 million. 

In the first half of FY2022, it received grants amounting to just S$700,000, it added.

No interim dividend was declared for the half year. In justifying this, Jumbo said while it achieved profitability, it remains cautious of the rising Covid-19 cases and rising operating costs which may affect its performance in the second half of 2023. 

“We will continue to monitor these developments closely and take necessary measures to maintain sustainable revenue growth and profitability,” it said.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the group is “cautiously optimistic” on its business performance for the next 12 months, it added.

Shares of Jumbo closed flat at S$0.295 on Friday.