Interim Financial Information For The Six Months And Full Year Ended 31 December 2024

Financials Archive

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Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

Review of performance of the Group

Revenue

In the second half of FY2024, the Group generated revenue of $45.6 million, 8.9% lower than the corresponding period in 2H2023. Revenue generated by our China attractions were lower than 2H2023 mainly due to lower visitor arrivals to the two aquariums in Shanghai and Xiamen.

Singapore Flyer reported increased revenue in 2H2024 compared to 2H2023 with slight increase in ticket revenue and higher retail revenue. Net rental income from retail leases as well as F1 revenue also increased.

Overall visitation to all our attractions totalled 1.88 million visitors for 2H2024, 8.7% lower than the corresponding period of 2.06 million visitors in 2H2023. Cumulatively, overall revenue for the full year of FY2024 amounted to $81.5 million, 0.8% lower than FY2023.

Other income for 2H2024 increased from 2H2023, mainly due to a fee of $3.0 million received under a settlement agreement with the contractor who carried out works on the Singapore Flyer during its inception; offset by substantially lower amounts of government grants received in the absence of wage support grant and claim for marketing partnership programme from Singapore Tourism Board as in 2H2023.

Operational Results

Total Expenses (excluding finance cost) for 2H2024 was $29.24 million, 2.8% higher than 2H2023. Exchange loss of $0.31 million was recorded in this period, as Renminbi weakened further against the Singapore Dollar in the current period. Impairment losses amounting to $0.3 million and $1.42 million were recognised on the investment property at Singapore Flyer and the goodwill on consolidation of interest in Underwater World Xiamen respectively.

Changes in inventories and purchases of goods decreased, as overall retail and F&B sales decreased. Professional and consultancy expenses increased, mainly due to legal and professional fee relating to the spoke cable issues recorded in the current period. Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment increased, mainly due to old machinery and equipment not in use or beyond repair being disposed at our China attractions. Rental expense decreased, mainly due to the lower variable land rental at SOA as revenue generated in 2H2024 was lower than 2H2023. Property and other taxes increased, mainly due to the upward revision in annual value of the Giant Observation Wheel (“GOW”) by the Singapore tax authority as well as new property tax accounts for retail units being added at Singapore Flyer. Staff cost increased, mainly due to higher salary cost arising from more headcount, salary increment, increased provident fund contributions and accrual of performance bonus. Utilities expense decreased compared to 2H2023, mainly due to lower expenses at Singapore Flyer as lower unit rate for electricity was secured during the renewal of electricity contract in October 2023.

Profit before tax was $21.41 million for 2H2024, 12.1% lower than the profit before tax of $24.36 million recorded in 2H2023. Excluding the exchange losses and the one-off impairment losses in both periods, as well as the settlement fee received in the current period, profit before tax for 2H2024 would have been $20.44 million, 21.4% lower than the profit before tax of $26.0 million in 2H2023.

Cumulatively, profit before tax was $36.22 million for FY2024, 4.6% higher than the profit before tax of $34.62 million in FY2023. Similarly, excluding the exchange losses and one-off items mentioned above; profit before tax for FY2024 would have been $34.87 million, 7.6% lower than the profit before tax of $37.75 million for FY2023.

Balance Sheet items

Intangible assets decreased 96.4% from $1.49 million at 31 December 2023 to $54,000 at 31 December 2024, due to the impairment loss recognised on the full amount of goodwill on consolidation for UWX in the current year.

Trade and other receivables decreased 13.2% from $4.27 million at 31 December 2023 to $3.71 million at 31 December 2024, mainly due to decrease in trade receivables, receipt of 2021 and 2022 wage support grants in the current year, and GST input tax claimable being net-off against output tax to present as net GST payable in the current year; offset by higher interest receivable from fixed deposits placed with financial institutions.

Other current asset increased 28.1% from $1.17 million at 31 December 2023 to $1.50 million at 31 December 2024, mainly due to advance payments for purchase of fishes, water pump, and certain upgrading or replacement works at SOA; and increase in prepayments at Singapore Flyer arising from progressive claims for cabin repainting works and enhancement to mobile apps which are yet to complete.

Non-current trade and other payables increased 48.8% from $0.21 million at 31 December 2023 to $0.31 million at 31 December 2024, mainly due to security deposits from certain retail tenants being reclassified from current to non-current payables upon their extension of lease for two years.

Deferred income increased 73.3% from $0.12 million at 31 December 2023 to $0.20 million at 31 December 2024, due to several productivity solution grants and a business improvement grant, total amounting to $0.15 million, received this year; offset by periodic recognition of deferred income to profit & loss in the current year.

Current tax liabilities increased 55.5% from $0.94 million at 31 December 2023 to $1.46 million at 31 December 2024, mainly due to the provision of income taxes at Singapore Flyer, as past years’ unutilised capital allowances were fully utilised this year.

Cash Flow Statement

Net cash of $23.71 million from operating activities was recorded in 2H2024, 2.5% higher than corresponding period. Instalment repayment of borrowings and interest in 2H2024 totalled $0.53 million for the temporary bridging loan taken up by Singapore Flyer in July 2021.

As at 31 December 2024, the Group’s cash and cash equivalent balance amounted to $187.05 million.

Commentary

The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported that China’s gross domestic product (“GDP”) grew 5% for the full year of 2024.

Shanghai, where our flagship aquarium is located, welcomed over 6 million international tourists in 2024, according to the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. The metropolis city has been focusing on integrating cultural and tourism services and making its tourism infrastructure more foreign-user-friendly, with a series of initiatives being rolled out to improve the ease of entry for international travelers. Such initiatives include implementation of self-service immigration kiosks at airports, and offering “Shanghai Pass” cards that grant access to multiple attractions.

Singapore’s economy grew by 4% in 2024, faster than the 1.1% in 2023, as reported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (“MTI”). On the tourism sector, the Singapore Tourism Board (“STB”) had reported that Singapore’s tourism receipts for the full year were likely to hit the upper bound of $27.5 to $29.0 billion forecasted, up 10% from the same period in 2023. International visitor arrivals continued to recovered steadily from 2023, up 21% to 16.5 million in 2024, and reached 86% of pre-pandemic peak of 19.1 million visitors in 2019. Factors such as 30-day mutual visa exemption between Singapore and China that kicked off in February 2024, strong growth in air connectivity, slate of concerts in 2024 by mega pop stars, year-round calendar of lifestyle events, and several significant business events and conferences such as “World Economic Forum’s Young Leaders Summit 2024” and the “Global Sustainable Tourism Conference 2024” that took place in Singapore for the first time, had contributed to the growth in visitor arrivals. For 2025, STB has forecasted international visitors’ arrival of between 17 million to 18.5 million, as it remains focused on driving quality tourism growth.

However, macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tensions may continue to weigh on the global economy, dampen growth, and affect the pace of travel recovery. The Group will continue to monitor, adapt and manage the impact on its operations.