April 3, 2024
K.L.E. Group Limited (KLE) for the year ended December 31, 2023, reported a 199% increase in other operating income totalling $54.02 million compared to $18.06 million in the corresponding period last year. For the fourth quarter, the company booked other operating loss of $1.29 million compared to other operating income of $14.32 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.
Administrative and other expenses amounted to $56.34 million (2022: $12.46 million), this represents an increase of 352% year over year. Consequently, loss from operation amounted to $2.31 million compared to operating profit of $5.59 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The company booked loss from operation of $2.66 million for the fourth quarter versus operating profit of $10.62 million for the similar quarter of 2022.
Finance costs decreased by 3% to close at $11.03 million (2022: $11.33 million). Share of post-tax loss of equity accounted associate amounted to $14.45 million in the period under review relative to share of post-tax profit of equity accounted associate of $3.20 million in 2022. Loss before taxation for the year ended December 31, 2023,plummeted to $27.79 million from the pre-tax loss of $2.54 million reported in 2022.
Taxation for the year ended December 31, 2023, amounted to $572,000 (2022: nil). Adjustments to discontinued operation results experienced an 84% reduction. Consequently, net loss for the year totalled $24.14 million relative to net profit of $24.67 million for the prior year. For the fourth quarter, net loss was $14.49 million (2022: net income of $7.07 million).
Total comprehensive loss for the year amounted to $23.04 million relative to comprehensive income of $24.96 million reported in 2022. For the fourth quarter, total comprehensive loss was $14.14 million (2022: comprehensive income of $6.99 million).
Loss per share (LPS) for the year amounted to $0.24 (2022: EPS of $0.25), while LPS for the quarter totalled $0.14 (2022: EPS of $0.07). The number of shares used in these calculations was 100,000,000.
Notably, KLE’s stock price closed the trading period on April 2, 2024, at a price of $2.39.
Balance Sheet Highlights:
The company’s assets totalled $107.04 million (2022: $142.82 million); a year-over-year decrease of 25% largely attributed to declines in short-term investments (down 73% or $19.70 million) and investment in associate (down 20% or $14.45 million). Notably, receivables experienced a 106% uptick to reach $20.21 million (2022: $9.82 million).
Shareholder’s equity was $10.57 million (2022: $33.61 million), representing a book value per share of $0.11 (2022: $0.34).
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