Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) maintained a distribution per unit of 0.93 cent for the second quarter, unchanged from the same period a year earlier.

It did so even as net profit slipped 4.9 per cent to $15.8 million for the three months ended June 30, dragged down largely by a 94.5 per cent drop in other income.

KIT had recognised insurance compensation over Basslink's cable fault in the second quarter of last year.

The trust said yesterday that as a business trust, it is allowed to pay distributions to unit holders out of its retained cash and residual cash flows, in accordance with its distribution policy.

This is unlike companies, which are governed by the Companies Act and can only make dividend payments out of accounting profits.

Its total distributable cash flows were $38.7 million for the quarter, up from $38 million in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue, however, rose 15.6 per cent to $158.8 million, thanks in part to higher contributions from City Gas, the concessions (comprising the Senoko waste-to-energy plant, Tuas waste-to-energy plant, SingSpring Desalination and Ulu Pandan Newater plants) and Basslink.

Revenue for the half-year was 16.9 per cent higher at $314.1 million, while net profit rose 35.8 per cent to $22.5 million on the back of higher contributions from Basslink and KMC.

These were partially offset by lower contribution from City Gas due to the time lag in the adjustment of gas tariffs to reflect actual fuel cost, abortive expenses incurred in connection with a potential acquisition and professional fees incurred for the Basslink outage, said the trust.

Earnings per unit for the quarter slipped to 0.41 cent from 0.43 cent, while net asset value per unit came in at 30.7 cents as at June 30, down from 32.5 cents as at Dec 31 last year.