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Centurion Corporation saw its revenue increased by four percent to $31.3 million in the first quarter of 2019, from $30.1 million over the same period last year.
The company attributed the hike in mainly to revenue contribution from dwell Princess Street in the United Kingdom as well as the rental rate increase from its UK assets.
Net profit, however, fell 14 percent to $7.9 million in Q1, mainly due to higher cost of sales, finance and administrative expenses.
In an SGX filing, Centurion noted that the increased costs were the result of start-up costs incurred for its new operating assets dwell Dongdaemun, dwell East End Adelaide and Westlite Bukit Minyak, as well as higher administrative and finance expenses arising from higher interest rates and interest expense on additional borrowings to finance the new assets.
“Our focus on improving the performance and expanding the portfolio of our workers and student accommodation assets to earn a sustainable and recurring income has borne fruit and we are pleased with the healthy set of financial results for this quarter. We have made significant developments in FY2018 and expect that occupancy for these new assets will ramp up progressively and begin accreting revenue over the course of 2019,” said Centurion Corporation CEO Kong Chee Min.
Looking ahead, the group intends to selectively “explore opportunities to grow its accommodation business in existing and new markets, while simultaneously exploring further growth opportunities through asset light strategies”.
Although the group will remain focused on specialised accommodation assets in the purpose-built workers accommodation asset and purpose-built student accommodation asset sectors that generate stable, recurring income, it also plans to invest in new specialised accommodation types, it added.
Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg.
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