Chairman’s Statement

Dear Shareholders,

The Group reached another significant milestone on 5 May 2022 when it traded on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange after switching back to its original name – PSC Corporation Ltd (普威集团) – which was unanimously approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 28 April 2022.

I am very happy that we have returned to our roots as PSC Corporation Ltd (普威集团) because this corporate brand has been deeply entrenched in the minds of our customers in Singapore and has generated positive goodwill over the years. We want to build on this positive legacy and establish an even greater connection with our customer base, even as we reach out to the younger generations of consumers.

Moving ahead, PSC will scale up, expand our market footprint and enlarge the mindshare of our brands. We hope that through PSC, we will continue to harness our existing strengths such as our brands, network and operational capabilities to accelerate our growth in the years ahead.

In tandem with this strategy, we have adopted a new corporate identity reflecting our values of innovation, adaptability, dependability and trustworthiness, as well as PSC’s ability in fostering strong relationships with our customers and partners since its inception.

These are the values that, we hope, will position the Group for the future which is looking to be full of uncertainties and challenges. Just as we thought that we were on our way to recovery after the pandemic, the war in Ukraine set the stage for an intense macro-economic environment headlined by escalating inflation, interest hikes and even the prospect of a global recession.

Financial Highlights

Despite such challenging times, our Group’s Consumer Business continued to benefit from the lifting of pandemic measures in the region, especially the reopening of travel in Singapore and Malaysia in April 2022. The higher revenue from Consumer Business was, however, offset by lower sales from Packaging Business which continued to be impacted by China’s pandemic curbs.

Overall, the Group achieved a 3.7% uplift in revenue to S$553.0 million while net profit attributable to shareholders decreased marginally to S$19.5 million as higher operational costs have led to overall gross profit margin dipping slightly by 0.4 percentage point.

With the reopening of China’s economy, we look forward to a better performance in FY2023 even though we remain cautious with the looming global economic uncertainties. As we move into FY2023, we continue to focus on our strengths to drive growth and exercise caution in exploring growth opportunities.

Building Brands

Royal Umbrella, our proprietary consumer brand, continued to enjoy strong top-of-mind recall and customer loyalty and has once again emerged as Singapore’s number one rice brand*. In addition, it continues to be a Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand and received accolades from key retail partners.

Both of our FMCG businesses, via our subsidiaries Topseller in Singapore and SOCMA in Malaysia, had a very busy year particularly after the reopening of the borders in both countries which spurred significant growth in demand from our B2B and B2C customers in the region.

SOCMA, in particular, has a lot of growth potential as it has extensive coverage across all channels in Malaysia. It markets and distributes well-known brands such as Mentos, Chupa Chups, TaoKaeNoi, Tai Sun, Meiji, Mazola, Gold Roast, Café 21 and Harmuni.

Fortune, another top-selling proprietary brand**, continued to innovate and develop new products in line with market demand and consumer feedback such as the original and almond-flavoured soya beancurd in ready-to-eat bowls that can either be served cold or warmed, as well as two new tofu products – traditional and deep-fried tau kwa.

Our tissue paper business, through Tipex in Singapore and Tips in Malaysia, also experienced robust growth as a result of the economic reopening in the region. Beautex, our flagship tissue paper brand, underwent a visual identity and packaging revamp with bold contrasting colours to emanate a youthful vibe. It also introduced a new 4-ply tissue paper range, wet wipes and cleaning products.

CKH Food Trading, the leading food distributor to food and beverage establishments in Singapore which we acquired in 2021, contributed its earnings to the Group for the first year.

Looking Ahead

Our future growth strategy is to scale up our business, as well as expand by way of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances.

We continue to look for other suitable targets in manufacturing, warehousing, logistics or food service which could bring upstream and downstream synergies and allow the Group to achieve greater scale of production and enjoy economies of scale. Companies that have strong-selling products will also be considered as they could open up new markets for the Group.

Dividend

We are pleased to propose a final tax-exempt dividend of 1.0 Singapore cent per share, in appreciation of the support that we have continued to receive from our shareholders. Together with the interim dividend of 0.25 Singapore cent per ordinary share paid out on 31 August 2022, the total dividend payout would amount to 1.25 cent per share. If approved at the upcoming Annual General Meeting on 28 April 2023, the final dividend will be paid on 16 June 2023.

Sustainability

Thanks to the global focus on sustainability, the Group continues to do its part in contributing positively to our environment and community. In 2023, we are installing more solar panels at our Singapore and Malaysia facilities to generate more green energy. In addition, our brands continue to support the less privileged in our communities through staff volunteers, product donations and fundraising initiatives.

Appreciation

This has been the first year for our new Board and management team. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all of my fellow directors on the Board, senior management and staff for working so hard as a team amidst such trying times. I am also grateful for the support that we have received from our customers, business associates, suppliers and shareholders.Let us look forward to a better 2023 ahead!

Dr Goi Seng Hui

Executive Chairman

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