Fijian Holdings Limited (FHL) group total assets increased by 2.78 per cent while a reduction of 12 per cent was recorded in its revenue for the financial year ending June 30, 2020.
In its market announcement released via the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX), the company said the effects of COVID-19 was widely felt across the group shutting down the tourism sector completely from March this year.
It stated that all other business sectors also had a difficult three months toward the closing of financial year as the group was challenged to sustain its revenue streams.
“FHL group recorded net profit before tax of $11.10million compared to $45.44million for the same period last year. The shortfall in performance by 75.55 per cent is largely attributed to the performance of Basic Industries Pte Limited (BIL), Pacific Cement Pte Limited and Serendib Investment Pte Limited (SIL),” the company stated.
“South Sea Cruises Pte Limited (SSC) and Merchant Finance Pte Limited (MFL) whilst not reporting losses did suffer a huge drop in it profits largely due to the impact of COVID-19.
“The restoration of the tourism sectors remains critical for the group performance as the trickledown effect in other business sectors is largely related to tourism.
“Construction sectors were also affected by the lockdown in March and April causing major deficiency in its revenue streams. Major construction projects were also put on hold causing further pressure on sales for Basic Industry and Humes.
“The financial sector in FHL portfolio had a proactive approach in managing its lending with strict credit terms whilst assisting existing customers with relevant moratorium. “
In the announcement, FHL’s acting chairman Yogesh Karan said “that this is unprecedented times and the board and management of FHL Group are monitoring the operations on a daily basis with strict cost control measures already in effect”.
He also advised that the group was looking at sustainability and ensuring adequate liquidity was available for the operation of the group.
As at June 30, 2020, Group Assets stands at $658.73m while the shareholders’ funds is reported at $297.76m.
