Parkson Retail Asia has flipped from a S$2.9 million (US$2 million) net profit a year ago to a net loss of $2.23 million for its second quarter.
This is despite a 7.4 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue to $111.14 million, with Parkson attributing its red ink to weak same-store sales growth as well as losses by some new stores and businesses.
For the six months to December 31, the department-store group had a net loss of S$7.42 million, compared to a net profit of $52.36 million for the same period the previous year. Revenue rose 4.2 per cent to $204.48 million.
Parkson Retail Asia says its performance in Malaysia will remain muted because of “fragile” consumer sentiment, while rising competition will make Vietnam challenging.
Meanwhile, its business in Indonesia could be affected by the changing retail landscape in Jakarta, it says.
In Myanmar, its store at FMI Centre in Yangon will be closed in the third quarter for property redevelopment by the landlord, with a replacement store scheduled to open later in the year.