No Signboard sinks further into the red with 39% fall in net loss for Q1

CATALIST-LISTED restaurant group No Signboard Holdings sank further into the red in its first quarter of FY2021, as it posted a net loss of S$1.68 million, a 38.6 per cent decrease from the year-ago period.

Its revenue saw a steeper decline of 58.8 per cent year-on-year to S$2.47 million, based on results announced Tuesday.

For its first quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, seafood restaurants sales accounted for 30 per cent of No Signboard's total revenue, compared with 60 per cent in the previous corresponding period. Meanwhile, hotpot sales contributed to 40 per cent of the total revenue, up from 17 per cent in the year-ago period. Quick-serve restaurants also contributed to a greater percentage of the group's revenue for the quarter; it stood at 25 per cent, compared with 6 per cent in Q1 FY2020.

However, its beer business was "significantly impacted" for the quarter, as most of the outlets where the group's beer is distributed had been closed during the circuit breaker and remained closed as at end last year.

Employee benefits and other operating expenses in Q1 fell 31.7 per cent and 43.6 per cent in from the year-ago period respectively. However, rental expense rose 28.7 per cent y-o-y.

The group noted that additional costs were incurred for takeaway foods, purchase of cleaning materials, disinfection needs and purchase of protective equipment, contributed to increase in expenses for the quarter.

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For the quarter, loss per share stood at 0.36 Singapore cent, a further decline from 0.26 Singapore cent in the corresponding period last year.

No Signboard said in its results filing that "business in the short term would not be able to operate on the same level as prior to the onset of Covid-19, and our business continues to be impacted by the low tourist arrival numbers and safe distancing measures that have been put in place".

Given that the situation is fluid and rapidly evolving as government policies change in tandem, it added that it expects the operating environment of the local food and beverage industry to remain challenging in the next 12 months, due to uncertain economic outlook aggravated by travel restrictions imposed globally that dampened consumers' demand.

The group's current "key priority" is to preserve cash to support working capital requirements until the pandemic situation improves, and to ensure that it has sufficient resources to tide through this period.

Shares of No Signboard closed unchanged at S$0.035 on Tuesday, prior to the results announcement.