Cordlife profit falls 50.3% in second half

It also announces chairman has stepped down for personal reasons

- Lee Li Ying

Private cord blood bank Cordlife Group reported a 50 percent drop in second-half profit and the departure of its chairman amid a probe into improper storage methods that had damaged the cord blood units of more than 2,000 customers.

In separate bourse filings late on Feb 29, Cordlife said Mr Joseph Wong had stepped down as chairman due to "personal family and health reasons", with effect from Feb 28.

Dr Ho Choon Hou, the vice chairman and non-independent and non-executive director of the company, has been appointed acting chairman with effect from Feb 29 until the appointment of a new chairman.

The changes come after Cordlife on Feb 19 named former TransGlobal executive director Ivan Yiu Pang Fai as group chief executive following the resignation of Ms Tan Poh Lan in October 2023.

Cordlife also reported that its net profit for the six months to Dec 31 fell 50.3 per cent year on year to $1.5 million as revenue declined 4.5 per cent to $27.6 million. It blamed the drop in revenue on a decrease in new samples processed and stored in Singapore, India and Indonesia.

Processes at the firm hit the headlines after the health authorities revealed on Nov 30, 2023, that cryopreserved cord blood units in seven of its 22 storage tanks were exposed to suboptimal storage temperatures.

The company was given a sixmonth suspension by the Ministry of Health that began on Dec 15, 2023. Under the suspension, the company may not collect, test, process or store any new cord blood and human tissues, or provide new types of tests for clients in Singapore.