By Mak Yuen Teen
On April 7, news broke about S11 Dormitory @ Punggol and Westlite Toh Guan Dormitories being gazetted as isolation areas following a spike in COVID-19 cases. Nearly 20,000 workers across the two dormitories have been placed on quarantine for 14 days. The news reports also shone the spotlight on living conditions in the dormitories.
Centurion Corporation, which is listed on SGX, is the owner-operator of the Westlite Toh Guan dormitory. Its 2019 annual report said that it is the “owner-operator of 12 quality, purpose-built workers accommodation assets in Singapore and Malaysia with consistently high average occupancy rates for FY2019” under its Westlite brand. Two others are being developed in Malaysia.
In addition, it owns 21 student accommodation assets in Singapore, Australia, United Kingdom, United States and South Korea with “healthy occupancy rates for FY2019”.
The company’s annual report, released on March 24, 2020, does discuss the financial impact and business continuity plans relating to COVID-19. On financial impact, it said: “With regards to COVID-19, we have assessed the financial impact of the pandemic on our business to be limited, unless it continues for a protracted period. Nonetheless, we are deeply concerned for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and residents, and have implemented Pandemic Management Plans to contain and manage the risks and safeguard their wellbeing to our best abilities.”
In another part of the report, it reiterated: “Centurion expects the COVID-19 outbreak to have limited impact on its accommodation business across its geographically diversified portfolio, unless the outbreak continues to spread globally over a protracted period.”
It now seems clear that the implementation of its Pandemic Management Plan for the Westlite Toh Guan Dormitory has not been effective. Clearly, shareholders and stakeholders may also have concerns about its effectiveness for other accommodation assets.
Further, it now seems clear that the outbreak has already spread globally and will continue for a protracted period.
Shouldn’t the company have issued an announcement regarding its Westlite Toh Guan Dormitory and any similar risk for its other dormitories, and updating stakeholders on the likely business and financial impact?
Without quarterly reporting, does it mean that shareholders will have to wait until the release of its half-year results to June 30, 2020, before they find out the financial impact?
