CEO's Message
DEAR SHAREHOLDERS,
FY25 saw CSC Holdings regain our footing. We returned to profitability, grew our topline and reinforced our market position in Singapore, while navigating labour constraints and operational challenges in the region. The Group's progress reflects the hard work of our teams on the ground, disciplined project tenders and a sharpened focus on margins, productivity and financial resilience.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Driven by higher level of construction activity in Singapore, our revenue rose 10.6% to $337.8 million in FY25, from $305.3 million a year ago.
Gross profit rose 144.9% to $35.4 million, from $14.4 million in FY24, while gross profit margin more than doubled to 10.5%, from 4.7% a year ago. These improvements reflected healthier contract margins, better execution and tighter cost controls, while factoring in the certain lowermargin projects undertaken in Malaysia in the second half of FY25.
Other income grew 5.5% to $2.3 million, from $2.2 million in FY24, mainly due to a higher gain from the disposal of aged equipment in FY25. Operating expenses declined marginally to $29.3 million in FY25, compared to $29.6 million a year ago, mainly due to a $1.7 million foreign exchange gain as a result of the appreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit and the Thai Baht against the Singapore Dollar.
Net finance expenses were relatively stable at $6.6 million in FY25. While we utilised a higher level of floating interest rate trade facilities in FY25 to support the increased construction activity in Singapore, lower floating interest rates charged and our progressive deployment of the multiseries unsecured commercial paper facility programme ("SDAX CP Facility Programme") to replace higher-cost loans contributed to offsetting the rise in borrowing costs.
We recorded a share of $0.9 million in profit from associates, compared to a $1.1 million loss in FY24. This was due to higher contribution from our associates' business operations, partially offset by revaluation losses following the independent valuation of our headquarters, which is held as investment property by an associate.
In view of the above, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than tripled to $31.4 million in FY25, from $9.2 million in FY24. We also achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of $1.9 million in FY2025, reversing from a loss of $20.2 million in the previous financial year.
Cash and cash equivalents improved to $19.1 million as at 31 March 2025, compared to $18.8 million as at 31 March 2024, due to positive operating cash inflows, higher proceeds from the disposal of aged equipment and higher funds raised from the issuance of commercial papers.
Loans and borrowings amounted to $101.7 million as at 31 March 2025, compared to $92.7 million as at 31 March 2024, amid higher drawdowns of trade facilities to support our business operations, in line with an increase in construction activity in Singapore and slower collections from certain customers. We also issued $41.3 million in unsecured commercial papers in FY25 under the SDAX CP Facility Programme, to progressively reduce higher-cost borrowings and optimise our financing costs. Of these, $28.7 million matured and have been fully redeemed by external parties. As at 31 March 2025, outstanding commercial amounted to $12.7 million, with interest rates payable ranging from 5.2% to 5.6% per annum, and maturities on 19 June 2025 and 19 August 2025. At the end of FY25, our gearing ratio stood at a relatively healthy 0.95 times.
We held 94.1 million shares with carrying values of $3.2 million as treasury shares as at 31 March 2025, following the repurchase of 17.2 million shares for a total consideration of $0.2 million in FY25. Total equity amounted to $107.4 million as at 31 March 2025, compared to $105.3 million as at end- FY24. Net asset value per share worked out to 3.1 cents as at 31 March 2025, versus 3.0 cents as at 31 March 2024.
OPERATIONS REVIEW
Our priorities in FY25 were clear: bid prudently, execute well and maintain operational and financial discipline. And we applied these consistently across our Group business.
This approach allowed us to stabilise our core business and optimise resource allocation while our teams have delivered well across a wide spread of projects from transport infrastructure to data centres and pharmaceutical and semiconductor facilities. Our technical capabilities in controlling vibration, minimising noise and ensuring safety are critical differentiators in such sectors. Some examples of projects we have secured that demonstrate these capabilities include:
- Vanguard International Semiconductor's new 300mm semiconductor wafer fab at the Tampines Wafer Park at Tampines Industrial Avenue 1
- WuXi STA's pharmaceutical manufacturing facility (Phase 1) at Tuas Avenue 5
- K2 Strategic Infrastructure's data centre development project in Johor, Malaysia
- West Coast MRT Station on the Cross Island Line (CR209)
- Shafts for bored tunnel between West Coast MRT Station and Jurong Lake MRT Station on the Cross Island Line (CR210)
Other notable projects that we have secured in Singapore and Malaysia include:
Residential projects
- Six public housing developments across Punggol West, Kallang Whampoa and Pasir Ris
- Upperhouse at Orchard Boulevard
- Lightwater Residences and other private condominium projects in Penang, Malaysia
Industrial projects
- Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore office at Tuas South Avenue 5
- Maritime House at 120 Cantonment Road
- PSA's Supply Chain Hub at Tuas Terminal
- Kuraray's ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer resin production plant on Jurong Island
- Sembcorp Banyan Utility Centre (SBUC) on Jurong Island
Commercial projects
- Union Square at Havelock Road
- New integrated development on the site of the former Bukit Timah Turf City at Upper Bukit Timah Road
- The Golden Mile mixed-use development at 5001 Beach Road
- Parktown Residence mixed-use development at Tampines Avenue 11
- Casa Mett Hotel at 21 Cuscaden Road
- Armani Residence luxury serviced apartments and other mixed-used developments at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Institutional projects
- Orange Valley Active Ageing Centres at Alkaff Crescent and Anchorvale Lane
- Integrated facilities and ancillary works for the realignment of Lim Chu Kang Road
- Development of buildings and infrastructure at Ministry of Defence Amoy Quee Camp
Although demand for construction services was healthy, we maintained our focus on quality of earnings, in order to execute projects more consistently and predictably. This is important in a market where price competition is intense, and project delays can quickly erode margins.
In Malaysia, the story was slightly mixed. The bored piling segment, in particular, faced weak demand and tighter margins. We have taken decisive steps to restructure our bored piling operation, which has been affected by the lull in the highrise residential market resulting in competitive tendering and tighter margins. We have doubled down on our jack-in piling operations, which is a more niche area where we have the expertise and cost advantage.
These adjustments took time to filter through and the second half of FY25 reflected the drag from lower-margin projects. Nonetheless, we believe we have laid the groundwork for a more disciplined performance in the current financial year.
Our equipment sales and leasing business remained a steady contributor. As the authorised distributor for foundation equipment manufactured by Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd, we saw a good mix of demand for both the purchase and leasing of these equipment in Singapore, in light of higher construction activity. From regional contractors in India, Philippines and Vietnam, we saw sustained demand to lease foundation equipment as well.
We are also setting up dedicated repair and servicing centre for heavy equipment in Singapore. This initiative is supported by technical partnerships with experienced Chinese contractors. It will fill a service gap in the local market that widely uses Chinesemade equipment, while contributing to enhancing equipment uptime and operational efficiency amid rising construction activity here.
BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
In Singapore, the construction sector is expected to remain on a stable growth trajectory, underpinned by long-term public investments into infrastructure and housing, as well as several largescale commercial development projects. We expect to see a sustained flow of tenders in connection with the Cross Island MRT Line, the Thomson- East Coast MRT Line Extension, Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the expansion of both the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort, among others.
Beyond these, we are also seeing increased activity in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors. These projects require precision engineering and careful execution in built-up environments, especially where there are sensitive research or manufacturing operations are located nearby. Our track record for safe and reliable delivery strengths our reputation as a preferred contractor of choice for technically demanding jobs.
In Malaysia, although our overall exposure remains relatively limited, we expect that our strategic pivot towards industrial developments, including data centres in Johor and Penang, should open up new revenue streams with healthier margins. We continue to restructure our operations there to stay lean and cost-effective, while balancing project risks and returns.
Our equipment sales and leasing business is expected to remain resilient. The demand for foundation equipment is expected to be underpinned by construction activity in Singapore, with contributions from regional markets. We hope that the new repair and maintenance capabilities that we are developing will help us differentiate our offering and generate new income streams.
Operationally, we will maintain cost discipline and drive efficiency and productivity amid an increasingly competitive environment. The slew of projects is likely to draw more foreign foundation contractors into Singapore, exerting pressure on key operating costs given Singapore's finite domestic resources, including those relating to labour, construction materials, transport and equipment. The impending increase in foreign worker levy in September 2025 may also compound the situation.
Meanwhile, we will be monitoring any potential impact on raw materials energy costs arising from geopolitical uncertainties.
To sustain our competitive edge and ongoing operations, and also to comply with BCA's enhanced contractor accreditation requirements, we will continue our fleet renewal efforts. Doing so will not only enhance our project execution capability and reduce downtime but also ensure that we maintain our accreditation with BCA for unlimited tender eligibility. Fortunately, we have largely maintained a relatively young fleet to optimise operational and cost efficiency. Any investments will thus be made prudently. We are also trialling the use of battery-powered jack-in piling equipment as a lowemissions alternative to diesel-powered systems. If successful, we would be able to enhance our service offering while supporting more sustainable construction practices.
From a capital management standpoint, we will continue to tap our commercial paper programme as a flexible and cost-effective source of funds, to support our working capital and fleet renewal needs. This will enable CSC to reduce our use of higher-cost bank financing, while preserving liquidity. Our people is the core of building a long-term sustainable business. In FY25, we took steps to deepen the technical expertise of our workforce. As at 2 May 2025, 80.7% of our total foreign workforce is CoreTrade-certified, with an outstanding 96.7% certification rate among those eligible. This reflects the concerted push over the past year to raise competency levels and build a resilient and skilled workforce capable of delivering complex jobs to high standards. Our efforts have helped us reduce levy costs by around $170,000 over the past 12 months.
We also continued to support the overall well-being of our team, with a series of health and wellness events organised throughout the year to improve employee awareness of their personal health. For instance, a complimentary health screening that was held in April 2025, was wellreceived with over 70 participants, and helped to reinforce the importance of preventative care and to identify potential health risks among our employees. A healthy and engaged workforce is key to delivering safe and reliable outcomes and also sustaining our Group's performance in the long run.
IN APPRECIATION
The past year's results and progress reflect the perseverance and teamwork of our people. I am deeply appreciative of our staff and management team of standing by CSC through the challenges and staying focused on doing the work well. It is because of these collective efforts that we are now beginning to see some of the fruits of our labour.
My thanks also to our Board of Directors for their support and guidance, and to our shareholders, customer and business partners for your continued trust. I am confident that, with the same spirit and commitment, CSC will be able to build on this momentum in the current financial year and contribute meaningfully to Singapore's built environment.