Rotary Engineering Q1 net profit jumps as revenue doubles

SINGAPORE - Oil and gas infrastructure services company Rotary Engineering has posted an almost fivefold jump in net profit for the first quarter from a year ago to $14.4 million.

This came on the back of a near-doubling in revenue to $199 million, it said on Wednesday.

The group experienced a "busy quarter" as the execution of its projects picked up pace and momentum, especially in Singapore and the Middle East.

In Singapore, Rotary is working on the $300 million expansion of an oil terminal at Pulau Busing and a project to build infrastructure for a shared lubricant storage facility in Tuas South.

In the Middle East, the group is executing a US$250 million (S$311.9 million) engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Fujairah Oil Terminal in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

Rotary said its gross profit margin rose to 17 per cent in the first three months, from 12 per cent for the whole of last year. Its net profit margin also more than doubled, from 3.5 per cent to 7.2 per cent in the first quarter, as the group took steps to improve its productivity.

"We are indeed moving up the ladder of productivity," said Rotary's chairman and managing director Roger Chia Kim Piow.

"Productivity is not only about cutting costs but also about being innovative and adding value. This is especially important in today's competitive business environment."

Rotary's earnings per share surged to 2.5 cents in the first quarter, from 0.4 cents a year ago.

Net asset value per share rose to 39.6 cents at the end of the quarter, from 37.2 cents as at Dec 31 last year.

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