Recruitment Expense. Recruitment expense increased by 65.2% to S$3.0 million (US$2.2 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$1.8 million (US$1.3 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2020, primarily attributed to higher workforce placement and expenses incurred on immigration and work permit processing, as a result of expansion of campaigns in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Transport and Travelling Expense. Transport and travelling expense declined by 25.0% to S$0.5 million (US$0.3 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from corresponding period of 2020, due mainly to lower accommodation and transportation expenses.
Telecommunication and Technology Expense. Telecommunication and technology expense increased by 50.7% to S$2.4 million (US$1.8 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$1.6 million (US$1.2 million) incurred last year due to business volume expansion of our campaigns.
Interest Expense. Interest expense increased by 248.7% to S$2.7 million (US$2.0 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$0.8 million (US$0.6 million) for the same period of 2020 primarily due to the interest incurred on the S$252.7 million drawdown of a term loan credit facility on March 23, 2021. The loan has since been fully paid down on October 7, 2021.
Other Operating Expense. Other operating expenses decreased by 6.8% to S$2.4 million (US$1.8 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$2.6 million (US$1.9 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2020, primarily due to lower foreign exchange loss, offset by higher spending on professional services.
Share of Profit from an Associate. Share of profit from an associate was negligible for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and nil for the three months ended September 30, 2020.
Other Operating Income. Other operating income decreased by 38.7% to S$1.0 million (US$0.7 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$1.7 million (US$1.2 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2020, primarily due to a reduction in government grants received in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Profit Before Income Tax. As a result of the foregoing, our profit before income tax increased by 54.1% to S$39.9 million (US$29.3 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$25.9 million (US$19.0 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2020.
Income Tax Expenses. Income tax expenses increased by 82.7% to S$9.7 million (US$7.1 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$5.3 million (US$3.9 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2020. The rate of increase in income tax expenses was higher than the 54.1% increase in profit before tax because of a domestic dividend tax of S$2.1 million levied on dividends repatriated by a subsidiary. The increased tax was offset by a higher contribution of taxable profit from the Philippines site which enjoyed tax incentives that lowered our tax rate.
Profit for the period. As a result of the foregoing, our profit for the period increased by 46.7% to S$30.2 million (US$22.2 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2021 from S$20.6 million (US$15.1 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2020.
Events after September 30, 2021
On August 26, 2021, TDCX adopted the TDCX Performance Share Plan (“PSP”), allowing us to offer Class A ordinary shares or American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) to employees, officers, executive directors and consultants. On November 1, 2021, TDCX issued awards to the first batch of participants of the TDCX PSP. We will start recognizing the related share-based payment expenses in the fourth quarter of 2021.