Singapore, 11 August, 2014 - Singapore Exchange Mainboard-listed ECS Holdings Limited ("ECS" or "the Group") announced today a net profit of $9.4 million for the three months ended 30 June, 2014, an increase from S$9.0 million a year ago, propelled by stronger contributions from higher-margin Enterprise Systems.

The leading provider of Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") products and services said revenue for the three months ended 30 June, 2014 was $1.02 billion (three months ended 30 June, 2013: $1.02 billion).

Revenue for the Enterprise Systems and IT Services segments rose by 47.1% to S$420.2 million and by 18.6% to $9.9 million, respectively. Enterprise Systems' contribution to Group's revenue rose to 41.1% from 28.1% over the comparative period. The stronger performance of both segments mitigated the 18.2% decline in revenue for the Distribution segment to $591.6 million over the comparative period.

Gross profit grew 10.8% to $40.8 million for the three months ended 30 June, 2014 (three months ended 30 June, 2013: $36.8 million). Gross profit margin for the three months ended 30 June, 2014 increased to 4.0% from 3.6% previously due to higher Enterprise Systems sales in North Asia as well as better margins achieved by networking hardware and enterprise storage products.

The Group's net profit margin was 0.9% of revenue for the three months ended 30 June, 2014, consistent with the comparative quarter.

Earnings per share for the three months ended 30 June, 2014 was at 2.54 cents (three months ended 30 June, 2013: 2.45 cents) and Net Asset Value per share was at 101.91 cents as at 30 June, 2014 (as at 31 December, 2013: 101.59 cents).

Mr. Ong Wei Hiam, Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "IT spending is expected to grow across all major segments for the rest of 2014, with the strongest growth set to come from Enterprise business. The Group will put in more effort to drive the higher-margin Enterprise business in all countries where we have a presence."

Mr. Tay Eng Hoe, Group Executive Chairman, said, "We remain committed to building our capabilities as a leading regional IT distributor and to remain the preferred supplier. We will continue efforts to emphasize higher-margin businesses while striving to improve internal efficiencies."

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Board of Directors is cautiously optimistic about the Group's financial performance in the third quarter of 2014 and FY2014.

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