PULS reports 27% increase in nine months net profit

May 5, 2021

For the nine months ended March 31, 2021, Pulse Investment Limited (PULS) recorded operating revenue of $530.57 million, up 12% from the $475.08 million reported in 2020, while operating revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was up 21% to close at $196.65 million (2020: $162.60 million).

Administrative and other expenses grew by 8%, closing the period at $189.92 million (2020: $175.44 million). For the three months ended March 31, 2021, administrative and other expenses amounted to $66.07 million relative to $48.03 million reported in the corresponding period of 2020; this represents a 38% increase.

As such, operating profit increased 14%, closing the nine months at $340.64 million (2020: $299.63 million). Operating profit, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, amounted to $130.57 million relative to $114.57 million the previous comparable quarter.

There was a fair value appreciation on investment property of $598.97 million, a 37% increase on the $436.24 million recorded for the corresponding period of 2020. Fair value appreciation on investment property for the quarter was $243.41 million (2020: $145.41 million). No other income was recorded for the period under review (2020: $25,000).

As a result, profit before net finance costs for the nine months ended March 31, 2021 totalled $939.62 million relative to the $735.90 million in 2020. While for the quarter, profit before net finance costs amounted to $373.99 million (2020: $259.98 million).

Finance cost increased by 50%, closing the nine months period at $11.62 million (2020: $7.75 million). Meanwhile, no finance income was recorded for the review period (2020: $28,000).

Consequently, net profit grew by 27%, closing the nine months period at $928 million, up from $728.17 million a year ago. Net profit for the three months ended March 31, 2021 amounted to $366.57 million, a 44% increase relative to $255.15 million reported in the same quarter of 2020.

Total comprehensive income for the nine months ended March 31, 2021 amounted to $970.41 million (2020: $769.45 million). While for the quarter, total comprehensive income amounted to $380.71 million (2020: $268.91 million).

Earnings per share amounted to $0.06 (2020: $0.04) for the three months ended March 31, 2021. For the nine months EPS totalled $0.14 (2020: $0.11). The twelve-month trailing EPS amounted to $0.16. The number of shares used in the calculations is 6,522,952,176 units. PULS stock price closed the trading period in May 04, 2021 at $4.26 with a corresponding P/E of 26.71 times

Balance Sheet Highlights

Total assets as at March 31, 2021 amounted to $5.77 billion, a year over year increase of 26% relative to the $4.58 billion booked the year prior. This was mainly due to a 33% increase in ‘Investment Property’ to $3.82 billion (2020: $2.87 billion). In addition, ‘Advertising entitlements receivable’ closed at $1.28 billion (2020: $1.07 billion).

Shareholder’s equity as at March 31, 2021 stood at $5.06 billion (2020: $3.97 billion) resulting in book value per share of $3.10 (2020: $2.44).

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2021-05-05T12:35:05-05:00