Revenues Almost Doubled in Difficult Year

• Bulk of Resorts World Sentosa projects successfully completed and handed over
• Current order book still strong at S$48.5 million
  

Singapore, 24 Feb 2010 – Cityneon Holdings Limited has reported its full year FY2009 results. The Group's Revenue of $90.4 million for the year was $42.5 million or 88.9% higher, as compared to the FY2008's Revenue of $47.9 million. This is our record Revenue level and is almost double the previous record. The Group’s Profit before Tax of $5.1 million for the year was $2.3 million or 81.2% higher, as compared to FY2008’s Profit before Tax of S$2.8 million.

This significant growth in revenue is mainly attributed to both our new Thematics business as well as our ongoing work at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Mr Ko Chee Wah, Group Managing Director of Cityneon, said “As early as 2008, we sensed that the financial climate globally as well as in specific markets that we operate in were going to be disastrous. This had a substantial knock-on effect on the Events or MICE industry that Cityneon operates in. Thankfully, we were successful in our strategic efforts to develop new engines for growth.”

The Thematics business is a new business which the Group initiated in FY2007. The plan was to develop a capability to service theme parks and the attractions sector and these investments have started to bear fruit in FY2009. In the Thematics work undertaken, the team transformed the bare unfinished structures into the required look and feel of the theme park. This involved elaborate design and fabrication work as well as utilising state of the art audio-visual techniques and special multi-media effects. The output included large scale installation of sculptures, replicas and rock features along rich and well-detailed facade work that bring to life the required theme.

In FY2009, the Group booked $39.4 million of thematic revenue which were mainly derived from Resorts World projects in Singapore. Mr Ko said, “Prior to our work at Resorts World Sentosa, no company in Singapore could boast of a track record in the Thematics business. We appreciate the opportunity and faith from our client in trusting us with some of the rather challenging segments of work. Our work in Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, Lost World and some F&B outlets has been successfully completed and handed over to the client. We are still working on the Grand Mountain project and its expected completion is in 1H 2010. For these projects, we have clearly transformed environments into experiences.”

Despite the global downturn and the resulting slump in the exhibitions business, Cityneon still grew its Exhibition Services businesses. Revenue grew by $2.7 million or 6.7% due to partial revenue recognition of the mega projects. This came from ongoing work on three country pavilions, which are the Indonesia, Qatar and Oman Pavilions for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The revenue from these projects were recognised progressively based on the percentage of work completed.

This work is still ongoing and will still contribute to the Group’s revenue in FY2010. Added Mr Ko, “The 2010 Shanghai World Expo will be one of the greatest shows on earth. The sheer scale and grandeur of this mega exhibition will wow all its visitors, both young and old. We are proud to be entrusted with this responsibility on behalf of our clients to showcase their country’s heritage, achievements and attractions. Our teams are currently working round-the-clock to ensure that we deliver these mega projects with our accustomed service quality excellence and exceed the expectations of our clients.”

Other major projects for the FY2009 include exhibition services for the larger Trade Exhibitions such as CommunicAsia, NATAS, Jewellery Arabia and MEOS and our work for outdoor events such as the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix and F1 Singapore Grand Prix. We are happy to have completed work for our customers such as Bayer, CBOSS, Cycle & Carriage, Exxon Mobile, Franklin Offshore, HSBC, HTL, Longines, Merck Serono, Petrobras, Pfizer, S Oil, Saudi Petroleum, SingTel, Stanley Tools, Texas Instruments, Vitol and Volkswagen, as well as government agencies such as HDB, iDA, Oman Ministry of Tourism, People’s Association, Singapore Poly, SMU and URA among many others.

Added Mr Ko, “We are hopeful that the economic recovery which we see signs of today will bolster business spending in the Events / MICE industry. Cityneon is well placed to take advantage of any upturn in business sentiment and increased “below-the-line” advertising in the global marketplace that we operate in. Our two Integrated Resorts in Singapore will be operational in 2010 and they will create new and exciting opportunities for us. Given our proven expertise in the Events and Exhibition business as well as our newly achieved track record in the Thematics business, as a Group, we are ready to deliver world class service and experiences for our clients in Asia and the Middle East.”

Ongoing projects include below-the-line agency work for a large Telco and a worldwide supplier of tools, some of the larger Trade Exhibitions in Singapore and the Middle East and outdoor sporting events.

Giving his concluding remarks, Mr Ko said, “Our current order book stands at $48.5 million. Despite the robust order book and the contracts we have won, our various teams are still working hard to secure even more projects. We are proud of our achievements and in particular our people in Cityneon. Together, we will continuously strive to deliver excellence for our clients and improve productivity. We look forward to another year of achievements.”

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