Informatics profit down $4mln from $4.4mln last year

Company achieved consecutive 2nd year positive bottom line that demonstrates a gradual return to profitability.

SGX Mainboard-listed Informatics Education Ltd reported another profitable financial year ended 31 March 2010 (FY2010), according to an Informatics report.

In FY2010 the Group recorded revenue of S$39.2 million as compared to S$43.6 million the previous year. This was mainly attributable to continuing consolidation and streamlining in operations. However, the Singapore school operation recorded encouraging growth whilst the Hong Kong operations showed bottom-line improvement.

The Group reported a full year profit before tax of $2.9 million compared with $4.7 million last year. Much of the decrease was due to the absence of a S$3.6 million write-back provision for training materials in the previous year. However, further improvements in operational efficiency generated significant savings in staff cost of S$3.8 million and operating lease and depreciation of S$1.1 million, which contributed to the pre-tax profit.

The Group achieved a positive full year result with a net profit of S$4.0 million compared to S$4.4 million last year. Overall, the Group held a healthy cash balance of S$25.7 million as of 31 March 2010.

The Board is encouraged by the continued profitability of the Group, albeit on a smaller revenue base. This performance understates the strenuous efforts the Group has made in previous years, laying the foundations for a more business-savvy organisation and for growth.

These foundations include entering new markets worldwide, accelerating the development of new programmes, strengthening its academic infrastructure and pedagogy, and tirelessly improving the quality of its programmes.

Amongst the major strides made this year, Informatics has launched new programmes into diverse markets. In the previous years, its NCC Education outfit, which was already well-entrenched and renowned for its technical and professional programmes in Europe, made further inroads into the developed European countries by opening centres in Germany, Paris and Moscow.

In Africa, Informatics continues to gain traction in countries such as Nigeria and Tanzania, through its franchise partners, as education continues to take priority in these emerging economies. Closer to home, in Hong Kong, Informatics has launched new Chinese language and cultural programmes oriented towards executives with a need for formative cultural knowledge in order to tackle the complex business landscape of China.

To this end, the Group will focus its efforts on both organic growth and merger and acquisitions in the coming years. As its current operations stabilise, the management’s immediate focus remains on driving growth geographically, launching new programmes and making investments that will deepen and broaden its global footprint.