Singapore Flyer owner Straco bounces back to the black

A strong recovery in visitor arrivals at all its businesses in China and Singapore saw mainboard-listed tourism attractions operator Straco bounce strongly back to the black during the second half of 2023.

- Ven Sreenivasan

With all engines firing and a positive outlook for 2024, the cash-rich company also declared a dividend payout which is double that for 2022.

The company posted $19.3 million in profit for the July to December period, bouncing back from a $2.3 million loss during the corresponding period in 2022. Revenue for the second half of 2023 surged 158 per cent to $50.1 million, from $19.4 million a year earlier.

For the full year to December 2023, net profit came in at $25.7 million, a whopping reversal from a loss of $10.8 million in 2022. Revenue for the full year almost tripled to $82.1 million, from $28.2 million.

The results translated into earnings per share of three cents. Net asset value per share stood at 30.73 cents. The company has proposed a final dividend of 1.5 cents, plus an additional 0.5 cent in special dividend. The total two-cent payout is double the one cent it paid for 2022.

Straco's China attractions, such as the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, Underwater World Xiamen and Lixing Cable Car in Xi'an, saw significantly higher visitor arrivals during the July to December 2023 period as China's domestic tourism posted a post-Covid recovery amid the summer holidays and National

Day Golden Week holidays, resulting in higher revenue.