It’s all about the dry powder

AS expected, quarter one (Q1) results season was as disappointing as trying to catch a sunset on a cloudy day.

With the movement control order (MCO) imposition with effect from March 18, it was not a surprise to see most corporates churning out disappointing quarterly report cards as business closures, especially among consumer names and the retail sector, were hit hard on revenue and earnings. Some corporates even experienced losses as revenue evaporated during the MCO period, while operating expenses ate into profits that have been earned in the early part of the Q1 period.