First Sponsor’s 1H profit soars 79% despite lower revenue

Revenue fell to $153.9m from $172.9m, largely due to fewer property handovers in China.

First Sponsor Group Limited reported a net profit of $26.7m for the first half of 2025, a sharp increase from $14.9m in the same period last year.

This nearly 80% surge in earnings was achieved despite an 11% drop in revenue amid the Group’s stronger returns from its associate and joint venture investments, including a significant contribution from Dutch-listed commercial property firm NSI N.V.

Revenue fell to $153.9m from $172.9m, largely due to fewer property handovers in China, lower income from property financing, and a marginal decline in hotel revenue.

Gross profit also declined to $60.7m, with gross margins narrowing to 39.4% from 41.5%, reflecting lower-yielding residential sales from The Brilliance project in China.

Despite the downturn in topline figures, profit before tax rose slightly to $33.4m, supported by $27.3m in share of after-tax profit from associates and joint ventures — a more than fourfold increase from the year before.

The Group continued to hedge its foreign exchange exposure aggressively. It reported a $63.8m drop in the mark-to-market value of euro-denominated derivatives, offset by a $67.2m gain on Chinese yuan positions. Net derivative assets stood at $66.6m as of 30 June 2025.

First Sponsor ended the period with total borrowings of $1.34b and cash reserves of $153m. An interim dividend of 1.1 Singapore cents per share was declared, matching the payout from 1H2024.