Aspial Corp H2 profit rises 34% on strong Aspial Lifestyle performance

[SINGAPORE] Aspial Corporation on Wednesday (Feb 25) reported a 34 per cent rise in net profit to S$13.5 million for its second half ended Dec 31, up from S$10.1 million in the corresponding period the year before.Revenue for the half year grew 26 per cent to S$481.8 million, up from S$382.5 million previously. For the full year, the group’s net profit attributable to owners surged 514 per cent to S$21.5 million, a sharp increase from S$3.5 million in FY2024. Full-year revenue jumped 29 per cent to S$875.8 million, compared with S$678.4 million a year ago.The group’s performance was heavily anchored by its majority-owned subsidiary, Aspial Lifestyle. The subsidiary reported that its own H2 profit after tax soared 172 per cent to S$55.2 million, alongside a 38 per cent rise in H2 revenue to S$462.9 million. For the full year, Aspial Lifestyle’s profit after tax more than doubled to S$84.4 million, while its revenue climbed 41 per cent to a record S$830.1 million. Aspial Lifestyle’s record top-line performance was fuelled by a 42 per cent surge in retail revenue to S$726.6 million, alongside a 16 per cent rise in pawnbroking revenue to S$148.6 million. Its secured lending segment also saw revenue jump 88 per cent to S$11.5 million. The subsidiary noted that its profit margins improved despite an S$8 million hedging loss incurred from a sharp surge in gold prices, which was largely offset by the increased value of its unredeemed pledge collateral.Retail and financial services boomThe group’s overall performance was primarily driven by the group’s retail and financial services businesses. Retail revenue in FY2025 climbed 37.9 per cent to S$726.6 million, supported by strong consumer demand in the retail and trading of jewellery.Meanwhile, the financial services segment’s revenue increased 35.3 per cent to S$103.5 million. This was lifted by higher interest income from pawnbroking operations and stronger contributions from secured lending, reflecting disciplined portfolio growth.These gains were partially offset by a weaker performance in the real estate business, which recorded a 39.1 per cent revenue decline to S$45.7 million. This was largely due to lower sales from the Australia 108 development and the absence of one-off asset sales that had contributed in the previous year. Pre-tax losses for the real estate segment also widened to S$41.5 million, largely due to a non-recurring partial write-off of an asset in Brisbane.Earnings per share for the full year stood at S$0.0097, up from S$0.0016 in FY2024.No dividend was declared for the financial period, as the group intends to retain cash for working capital, reduce borrowings and fund potential growth opportunities. Aspial previously paid a final dividend of S$0.003 per share for FY2024.Shares of Aspial Corporation closed flat at S$0.135 on Tuesday, while those of Aspial Lifestyle fell 4.3 per cent to close S$0.015 lower at S$0.33.