Its order intake is weighed down by a lack of major projects and unrepeated orders from the same year-ago period
[SINGAPORE] Systems integrator CSE Global posted a 20.5 per cent rise in revenue for its third quarter ended Sep 30 – but also saw its order book shrink 26.2 per cent, weighed down by a lack of major electrification projects.
The mainboard-listed company’s revenue for the quarter grew to S$257.7 million from S$213.9 million in the previous corresponding period, it revealed in an interim business update posted on the local bourse on Wednesday (Nov 19).
This was mainly due to its electrification business segment, which expanded by 39.9 per cent or S$41.8 million on the progressive recognition of revenue from two major projects in the Americas region secured last year.
Its automation business segment notched topline growth of 4.4 per cent or S$2.1 million due to higher revenue from its technology and integrated system solutions in the Americas region.
But its communications arm registered a dip of 0.2 per cent of S$0.1 million on the effects of year-on-year currency depreciation – namely the US, Australian and New Zealand dollars against their Singapore peer. Assuming constant currency effects, revenue would have been up 4.6 per cent for the quarter, said CSE Global.
For the nine months ended Sep 30, CSE Global’s revenue was up 8.7 per cent at S$698.6 million from S$642.8 million in the corresponding year-ago period.
Yet, despite the Q3 revenue growth, the group saw its order intake for that period fall by 21.7 per cent to S$146.1 million, from S$186.7 million in Q3 2024. This brought its order intake for the nine months ended Sep 30 down 9.3 per cent at S$512.8 million from S$565.4 million in the same period the year before.
Despite CSE Global’s communications segment recording for the quarter order intake growth of 24.2 per cent, or S$14.6 million, due to recent acquisitions that expanded its geographic footprint and market coverage in the US, the electrification and automation arms saw decreased intakes.
Electrification order intake fell 38.7 per cent or S$30.3 million on the absence of major projects it had secured in the corresponding quarter last year. Similarly, its automation arm received greenfield orders in the oil and gas sector in Q3 2024 that were unrepeated this year – falling 52.1 per cent or S$24.9 million.
As a result, CSE Global’s order book stood at S$467.5 million as at Sep 30, down 26.2 per cent from S$633.6 million in the earlier corresponding period.
Looking ahead, the group listed the following plans for its electrification segment: securing a new lease for a 241,000 sq ft industrial space, purchasing land to support future expansion, continuing to strengthen its position in data centres and reducing exposure to the renewables and municipal markets.
It intends to continue expanding its presence in the US and strengthening its position in Australia for its communications segment, and will focus on its traditional business for its automation arm.
On its outlook for FY2025, CSE Global noted that the current global economic outlook and inflationary pressures continue to present uncertainties in the markets it operates in, but maintained that the group is well-positioned to capitalise on rising demand for data centres.
The group on Nov 10 entered into an agreement to issue nearly 63 million new warrants to a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.
It concluded: “We will expand our engineering capabilities and enhance our technology solutions to tap into emerging market trends: urbanisation, electrification and decarbonisation. These mega-trends present significant long-term opportunities for CSE Global to deliver differentiated value and sustainable growth.”
Shares of CSE Global ended Wednesday up S$0.02 or 2.1 per cent at S$0.97 before the announcement.
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