AGTECH HOLDINGS (08279) issued a profit warning, expecting the annual net loss attributable to shareholders to be no more than HK$45 million, a year-on-year narrowing.

AGTECH HOLDINGS (08279) announced that the group is expected to incur a loss not exceeding HK$59 million for the financial year ending on March 31, 2026 (2025/26 financial year), while a loss of approximately HK$99 million is expected for the financial year ending on March 31, 2025 (2024/25 financial year). Furthermore, it is expected that the attributable loss to owners of the company for the 2025/26 financial year will not exceed HK$45 million, while a loss of around HK$90 million is expected for the 2024/25 financial year. The expected decrease in the above loss amounts is mainly due to various factors, including the following: (i) The group's total revenue for the 2025/26 financial year is expected to increase by no less than 22% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, mainly due to the inclusion of the full-year revenue of Ant Bank (Macau) in the 2025/26 financial year, whereas only approximately seven months of revenue was included in the 2024/25 financial year, as the group completed the acquisition of the controlling stake in Ant Bank (Macau) on September 2, 2024; this growth will be offset by an increase of no less than 17% in other operating expenses for the 2025/26 financial year compared to the 2024/25 financial year. Ant Bank (Macau) is still in its expansion phase in the 2025/26 financial year and requires relatively high expenditures to sustain high growth, therefore the expected impact on the overall performance of the group for the 2025/26 financial year will be greater; (ii) The group had previously provided and fully utilized a maximum amount of convertible term financing loan of INR 1.319 billion (equivalent to approximately HK$137 million) to First Games Technology Private Limited (a joint venture company in India in which the group owns a 45% interest), with no fair value change recognized for the 2025/26 financial year, while a fair value loss of approximately HK$71 million was recognized for the 2024/25 financial year for this financing limit. The group will recognize a one-time gain of approximately HK$3.5 million for the termination of the related financing limit in the 2025/26 financial year; and (iii) In the 2024/25 financial year, a one-time provision for bad debt of approximately HK$10 million was recognized for an outstanding receivable from an independent third party, which was not recognized in the 2025/26 financial year. The above factors (i) to (iii) are offset by the following: (iv) The increase in interest expenses of Ant Bank (Macau) is not expected to exceed HK$105 million, compared to approximately HK$33 million in the 2024/25 financial year. This increase is mainly attributed to: (a) the inclusion of the full-year amount of these expenses for Ant Bank (Macau) in the 2025/26 financial year, compared to the approximately seven-month period in the 2024/25 financial year mentioned above; and (b) a significant increase of approximately 260% in the average balance of customer deposits for the 2025/26 financial year compared to the 2024/25 financial year; and (v) It is expected that the group's employee benefits expenses for the 2025/26 financial year will increase by no less than HK$22 million compared to the relevant expenses for the 2024/25 financial year, totaling approximately HK$194 million. This is mainly due to (a) the consolidation of employee benefits expenses for Ant Bank (Macau) in the 2025/26 financial year; and (b) the recruitment of employees for the entire group to support business growth and expansion.