12 August 2003, Singapore — Achieva Limited (“Achieva”), one of Asia Pacific’s knowledge-based, value-added distributors and solutions providers focusing on electronics and IT-related products, today announced that the Group has turned around its business with a profit after tax of about S$1 million for the first six months ended 30 June 2003, compared to a loss of S$4.4 million for the corresponding period last year.
At half-time, the Group achieved net earnings of S$994,000 – compared to a loss of S$4.4 million last year – on the back of a group turnover which grew slightly to S$232.7 million.
Earnings per share was 0.22 cent in the first half of this year compared to a loss per share of 0.99 cent. Net tangible assets backing per share also rose from 11.14 cents to 11.36 cents.
In terms of segmental contribution, the Electronic Components group continued to chalk up increased sales while remaining profitable, while the PC peripherals group registered an operating profit (before interest and taxation) of S$181,000 on a slight dip in sales.
Turnover for the Group’s Electronic Components group grew by 30% from S$37.3 million in the first half of last year to S$52.8 million this half-year, reflecting an increase in contribution from its Components North Asia sub-group. Sales from the Electronics Components Division in North Asia increased significantly by S$17.6 million, compared to only S$245,000 last year.
Operating profit for the Electronic Components group decreased by S$129,000 compared to the previous period. The Components North Asia group managed to almost break even in the first six months of FY2003 compared to a loss in the previous corresponding period, while the Components South Asia group managed to maintain margins for the first half of this year.
Commenting on the results, Mr Henry Lim, President and CEO of Achieva, said: “Despite the difficult operating environment we have been faced with, especially the weak market sentiment due to the impact of the Iraq war and the outbreak of SARS, Achieva managed to return to the black. Our business turnaround attested to the effectiveness of our turnaround strategy whereby we focused on our core competencies and growth drivers, pared our cost structure and streamlined our product portfolio to weed out non-performing lines, and make strategic investments to grow our businesses in markets such as North Asia and India.”
“Moving ahead, we expect the Electronic Components group to continue its expansion in North Asia and remain profitable while the PC peripherals group will continue to face challenges in revenue and margins in the second half of the year. The Group will continue to explore new investments in high-margin and high-growth businesses. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are optimistic that the Group will be able to return to profitability for the full financial year of 2003.”
About Achieva
About Achieva Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange since June 2000, Achieva is one of Asia Pacific’s value-added distributors and solutions providers focusing on electronics and IT-related products. With corporate headquarters in Singapore and its operations spanning the Asia-Pacific region, the Achieva Group represents in excess of 40 product brands. Currently, the Group has four operating subsidiaries and a staff strength of more than 200, serving a growing customer base of about 5,000 in the Asia-Pacific region. The Group’s business operations are grouped under three product sectors or groups — PC peripherals, parts and software; electronic components; and strategic investments/technologies.