ST Engg profit falls on weak marine sector

The group's diverse business portfolio mitigated the impact of the weak marine sector, ST Engineering said. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Weakness in the still-hammered marine sector proved a drag on second-quarter earnings at Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering), which fell 12.3 per cent.

The integrated defence and engineering group yesterday posted a net profit of $111.5 million for the three months ended June 30.

The marine division suffered an $8.1 million loss against a $20.4 million pre-tax profit previously, owing mainly to "weak industry conditions and its US operations".

But the group's diverse business portfolio mitigated the impact of the weak marine sector, ST Engineering said.

The drop in earnings came even as revenue climbed 8.2 per cent to $1.76 billion, propped up largely by the electronics sector with a 40 per cent rise, and "others" which surged 138 per cent, thanks mainly to Miltope. It makes militarised and rugged computer equipment, and commercial computer-related products for the aerospace market.

Net profit for the half year ended June 30 shrank 9.5 per cent to $215 million, while revenue inched up 1.4 per cent to $3.3 billion.

Earnings per share for the quarter dropped from 4.1 cents to 3.59 cents. Net asset value per share stood at 67.77 cents as at June 30, lower than the 70.2 cents as at the end of 2016.

The group's order book grew slightly to $13.5 billion, of which $2.1 billion are expected to be delivered during the rest of the year. It announced $1.14 billion worth of new contracts during the quarter.

  • AT A GLANCE

  • NET PROFIT: $111.5 million (-12.3%)

  • REVENUE: $1.76 billion (+8.2%)

  • DIVIDENDS PER SHARE: Five cents (Unchanged)

ST Engineering has kept interim dividend steady at five cents per share, unchanged from previously.

The group said that it expects revenue and profit before tax for the whole of 2017 to be comparable with last year.

ST Engineering closed 3.1 per cent or 12 cents down at $3.70 yesterday, before the results were out.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 12, 2017, with the headline ST Engg profit falls on weak marine sector. Subscribe