Macau (MNA) – Local contractor Lai Si Enterprise Holding Limited saw profits attributable to company owners drop 87 per cent year-on-year to MOP18 million (US$2.26 million) in the year ended December 2018, a filing of the company with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed on Tuesday.
Lai Si’s revenue last year also fell 36.7 per cent to MOP173.7 million, with the company noting the drop was mainly attributable to a contraction in the fitting-out market in Macau – accounting for the biggest chunk of its revenue or nearly MOP167 million in 2018 – especially in terms of hotel and casino projects.
The filing also reveals a considerable decrease in revenue derived from heritage conservation projects of approximately 96 per cent.
Revenues of the company are mainly generated from fitting-out works for both the private and the public sectors – including hotel and casinos, retail shops and restaurants, and Macau SAR Government buildings – as well as construction works, and repair and maintenance services.
In order to counter the decrease, the group indicated that it stepped up efforts to develop fitting-out business, expand its clientele and market coverage, and ‘gain a foothold in Hong Kong’s fit-out market’.
‘The group undertook in the second half a series of fit-out works for large commercial buildings, renowned local restaurants, major property developers, global retail brands and internationally well-known coffeehouse chains in Hong Kong and Macau,’ the filing reads. ‘As a result, the Group achieved significant improvement […] with net profit of approximately MOP12.2 million in the second half.’
The company noted that it has recently been included in Hong Kong’s renowned property developers’ list of approved sub-contractors, which it considered could open up more opportunities to tender for fit-out works in that city.
In order to expand its market share and diversify businesses, Lai Si also noted it is muling the possibility of co-operating with projects in Mainland China.
