Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) has maintained its distribution per unit (DPU) for the fourth quarter even as earnings dropped.

The business trust yesterday reported a DPU of 0.93 cent for the three months to Dec 31 last year - unchanged from the same period a year earlier.

Net profit shrank 11.6 per cent to $7.7 million, due mainly to the "time lag in the adjustment of gas tariffs to reflect actual fuel cost and fair value losses from the derivative financial instruments", the trust's manager said. But this was partially offset by higher other income and deferred tax credits recognised during the period.

Revenue slipped 5.2 per cent to $152.2 million. This came as City Gas' revenue dropped by $5.6 million to $74.9 million as a result of lower town gas tariffs, while the concessions - comprising the Senoko and Tuas waste-to-energy plants, SingSpring and Ulu Pandan Newater plants - contributed revenue of $24.7 million, compared with $34.2 million previously.

Basslink's turnover increased to A$17.8 million (S$19.1 million) from A$12.1 million previously, owing to a lower negative commercial risk sharing mechanism and lower facility fees recognised as the cable outage that occurred on Dec 20, 2015.

Earnings per unit came in at 0.2 cent, down 9.1 per cent from previously. Net asset value per unit slid 7.9 per cent to 32.5 cents as of Dec 31 last year, compared with 35.3 cents at the same time a year earlier. Total expenses were $155.1 million, 3.8 per cent less than that in the same period a year earlier. Other income, including insurance compensation, rose to $5.2 million from $888,000 previously.

Net profit for the full year more than doubled to $41.2 million from $15.5 million a year earlier, while revenue rose 35.8 per cent to $581.1 million.

KIT units closed half a cent, or 1.02 per cent, higher at 49.5 cents yesterday, before the results were released.

Jacqueline Woo