Company Briefs: Chip Eng Seng

Chip Eng Seng

Construction and property firm Chip Eng Seng posted a net profit of $11.1 million for the second quarter ended June 30, a turnaround from a $2.6 million loss in the year-ago period.

This was on the back of a 16.3 per cent growth in revenue to $247.8 million, as robust contribution from the property development and hospitality divisions offset lower construction revenue. Earnings per share were 1.79 cents, compared with a loss per share of 0.41 cent previously.

The latest results brought the group's first-half net profit to $17.2 million, almost three times the $6.1 million for the first half of last year. First-half revenue was $452.1 million, up 18.9 per cent.

Noting that market sentiment has turned less favourable after property cooling measures last month, Chip Eng Seng said it "will cautiously replenish its land bank in Singapore".

With no significant construction projects secured in the second quarter and more works done and billed, the group's construction order book declined to $479.9 million at the end of the quarter, from $524.6 million a quarter ago.


NetLink NBN Trust

National broadband network operator NetLink NBN Trust's first-quarter results beat initial public offering forecasts, the manager said.

The trust, which debuted on the mainboard in July last year, turned in a net profit of $19 million for the three months to June 30, beating the projected earnings of $15 million by 26.9 per cent. Revenue came in at $86.1 million, up by 2.8 per cent on the projected $83.8 million.

The better performance was mainly due to higher diversion revenue, from the recognition of turnover from completed projects, as well as ducts and manholes service revenue on joint-build projects with Singtel.

Expenses were below projections because of lower installation costs, depreciation and amortisation expenses, staff costs and finance costs, with the capital expenditure incurred being less than expected.

The trust clocked earnings per unit of 0.49 cent, with a net asset value of 78.8 cents a unit, against 81.5 cents as of March 31.

Mr Tong Yew Heng, chief executive of the manager, said in a media statement that NetLink NBN Trust has seen "a steady growth in the number of connections" in the residential, non-residential and non-building address point segments.

"This has enabled us to deliver on our forecast distribution and is a reflection of the resilience of our business model," he added.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 04, 2018, with the headline Company Briefs: Chip Eng Seng. Subscribe