Zhongmin Baihui’s FY2026 Cash-Flow Correction: What Does It Mean for the Proposed Dividend?

Zhongmin Baihui Retail Group (SGX: 5SR) has corrected the way cash movements were classified in its results for the year ended 30 June 2026. For dividend investors, the key change is that audited cash generated from operating activities is RMB135.3 million, down from the RMB143.3 million reported in its unaudited results on 28 August. The company announced the correction alongside its annual report on 14 October. [S1, p. 1] [S1, p. 2]

The board still proposes a final dividend of 1.0 Singapore cent per share, the same as for FY2025. It remains subject to shareholder approval and was not recognised as a liability at 30 June 2026. [S2, p. 186]

What the audit changed

The operating figure fell by RMB8.061 million. The company says prepaid rent and tax payments had been classified incorrectly in the local books. It also corrected Singapore dollar fund movements that had been included in foreign-exchange translation. These changes shifted amounts among cash-flow lines; they did not change the reported closing cash balance. [S1, p. 2] [S1, p. 3]

That distinction matters. A lower operating cash-flow number changes how investors read the year’s cash generation, even though the group did not finish the year with less cash than the unaudited statement showed. The company describes the adjustments as largely presentational and says they do not materially affect its underlying operations or financial position. [S1, p. 1] [S1, p. 2]

Cash improved, but the sources matter

Audited operating cash flow was still well above FY2025’s RMB46.0 million. One substantial contributor was a RMB56.5 million decrease in inventories. That release of cash helped the year’s result, but investors should watch whether operating cash flow remains strong without a similar inventory reduction. [S2, p. 115]

Profit tells a different part of the story. FY2026 profit rose to RMB49.9 million from RMB42.8 million, while revenue and gross profit both fell. The group recorded RMB54.6 million as its share of joint-venture and associate results, but received RMB5.35 million in cash dividends from associates during the year. Equity-accounted profit therefore should not be read as cash already available for distribution; the annual report says no dividends were received from joint ventures. [S2, p. 112] [S2, p. 115] [S2, p. 157] [S2, p. 158]

What supports the proposed payout?

The proposed dividend carries an estimated RMB10.06 million amount in the annual report. Audited operating cash flow comfortably exceeded that figure for FY2026, but the group also used cash for lease payments, interest, debt repayment and its previous final dividend. At 30 June, it had RMB97.15 million of current bank loans, with the annual report listing repayment dates from September 2026 to June 2027. That is the filing’s maturity schedule, not evidence of the status of any repayment after June. [S2, p. 115] [S2, p. 116] [S2, p. 168] [S2, p. 169] [S2, p. 186]

The correction does not alter the proposed 1.0 cent dividend or year-end cash. It does make RMB135.3 million, rather than RMB143.3 million, the audited starting point for judging cash generation. The next useful evidence is whether subsequent operating cash flow holds up as inventory levels and near-term borrowing obligations change. [S1, p. 2] [S2, p. 111] [S2, p. 115] [S2, p. 186]