It's back in the black thanks to strong orders secured in 2002 AIRPORT baggage-handling systems maker Inter-Roller Engineering has swung back into the black with first-half net profit of $3.2 million - and has proposed its first interim dividend.

The company, which suffered a net loss of $219,000 in first-half 2002, yesterday attributed its improved performance to strong orders it secured from regional airports in 2002.

It proposed an interim dividend of 5 per cent, or one cent per share, representing 22.5 per cent of its first-half net profit. For full-year 2002 the company paid a final dividend of 6 per cent.

Inter-Roller yesterday reported a 159 per cent surge in turnover for the six months ended June to $25.4 million. This exceeded its revenue for full-year 2002.

Half-time earnings per share came in at 4.53 cents, against a loss per share of 0.3 of a cent a year ago. Net asset value per share rose to 41.1 cents from 38.2 cents.

Managing director Lim Yee Min said Inter-Roller expects to maintain turnover in the second half, and in view of this the company can pay a higher final dividend for 2003 than in 2002.

Inter-Roller said yesterday that 85 per cent of the work it did during the first half was upgrading and expansion of existing airport systems. It said its order book, which swelled from just $9.5 million at the beginning of 2002 to $117 million by the end of the same year, contributed to its latest revenue jump.

New contracts in 2002 included the design and supply of baggage-handling systems at Changi Airport's upcoming Terminal 3 and Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Earlier this year, it also won contracts to redevelop and upgrade the baggage systems at Changi's Terminals 1 and 2. At end-June 2003, Inter-Roller had $104.5 million of outstanding orders on hand.

At a briefing, Mr Lim said Inter-Roller is negotiating several sizeable projects in the region, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. He said the sizes of these contracts range from $5 million to $100 million.

Chairman Lim Yong Wah said Inter-Roller has won many major contracts because it can provide customised designs and engineering solutions at lower prices than competitors. 'The fact that we have a long track record in this business has really helped us,' he said. 'And once we have done work for an airport, it puts us in a good position to do the upgrading and maintenance work later on.'

Inter-Roller shares closed half a cent higher at 54.5 cents yesterday.

《The Business Times》