Raffles Education’s FY2026 Dividend Was Mostly Settled in Shares as Its Audited Loss Widened

Raffles Education (SGX: NR7) declared a special dividend of 0.4 Singapore cents per share for the year ended 30 June 2026. The useful distinction for dividend investors is how shareholders received it: S$3.820 million of the S$6.158 million total was settled through new shares under the scrip scheme, while S$2.338 million was paid in cash. The company’s August results say the dividend was paid on 28 April 2026, so it is a historical distribution rather than a current entitlement. [S3, p. 171] [S3, p. 128] [S4, p. 30]

The audited annual report followed a 12 October announcement correcting FY2026 tax expense. That correction did not alter the reported dividend settlement, but it widened the loss against which investors must assess any future payout. [S1, p. 1] [S3, p. 122] [S3, p. 128]

The audited earnings picture

An additional S$238,000 of income tax and deferred-tax expense for a college increased the group’s FY2026 loss after tax from S$6.114 million in the unaudited results to S$6.352 million. The comparable FY2025 figure was a S$4.358 million profit. The FY2026 loss attributable specifically to Raffles Education shareholders was S$5.607 million; group and shareholder results should not be treated as the same figure. [S1, p. 1] [S3, p. 122]

Revenue fell from S$111.710 million to S$106.823 million. The year’s result also included a S$52.296 million gain on disposing of assets held for sale and a S$29.362 million loss on disposing of subsidiaries. Those substantial disposal items make the reported result a poor basis for assuming a repeatable dividend. [S3, p. 122] [S3, p. 174] [S3, p. 175]

Cash generation and asset sales

Operating activities generated S$12.584 million of cash in FY2026, up from S$4.349 million a year earlier. This measure already includes interest and tax paid. After the S$9.434 million cash outflow for property, plant and equipment, the difference was S$3.150 million. That gives context for the S$2.338 million cash portion of the dividend, although it does not establish cash available for another payment. [S3, p. 126] [S3, p. 127] [S3, p. 128]

Year-end cash and cash equivalents rose to S$39.136 million from S$16.861 million. Asset sales contributed materially: investing cash flow included S$29.263 million of net proceeds from assets held for sale and S$9.446 million from subsidiaries. Separately, S$93.643 million of borrowings was settled through a disposal of an asset held for sale. That settlement reduced debt without appearing as an ordinary cash loan repayment. [S3, p. 127] [S3, p. 128]

A lighter balance sheet, with limits

Group borrowings declined from S$208.741 million at 30 June 2025 to S$86.202 million at 30 June 2026. Even so, the group had S$25.842 million of net current liabilities at the latest year-end. The directors’ going-concern assessment relies in part on forecast operating cash flow, lender support, the ability to refinance when necessary and asset realisation. These are stated assumptions, not evidence that future refinancing has been completed. [S3, p. 120] [S3, p. 128] [S3, p. 130] [S3, p. 163]

The share base matters too. Raffles Education issued 31,833,134 shares under the scrip dividend scheme, alongside shares issued for conversions of bonds and director loans. Total issued shares increased from 1,463,646,772 at the start of FY2026 to 1,817,679,473 at year-end. A future per-share distribution would therefore need to be assessed against a larger share count. [S3, p. 169] [S3, p. 170]

The FY2026 special dividend demonstrates a distribution that was mostly settled in shares, while the audited loss and reliance on disposal proceeds leave the case for a repeatable cash dividend unproven. In its 28 August results, the company described a separate 0.3-cent special interim dividend as subject to shareholder approval. Investors should seek a later approval or payment disclosure and watch cash generation after capital spending before treating another payout as established. [S3, p. 122] [S3, p. 126] [S3, p. 127] [S3, p. 128] [S4, p. 30]