SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Sembcorp Industries has reported a net profit of $233 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2021, reversing its loss of $866 million a year ago.
This comes as turnover from continuing operations increased by 59 per cent year on year to $4.5 billion, from $2.83 billion, the group said in its financial results on Wednesday (Feb 23).
The energy and urban development company attributed turnover growth to higher energy demand as economies recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as high fuel prices during the current period that led to increases in power prices, despite maintenance shutdowns in Singapore, Myanmar and India.
The results come “less than a year” into the group’s strategic transformation plan, said group president and chief executive Wong Kim Yin.
Sembcorp had previously laid out a road map to transform its portfolio to green from brown, grouping its businesses under four main segments - renewables, integrated urban solutions, conventional energy, and other businesses and corporate.
Earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations grew 18 per cent to 13.06 cents in the second half of financial year 2021, from 11.09 cents in the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, EPS from non-continuing operations was 13.06 cents, compared with the loss per share (LPS) of 48.52 cents in the year-ago period.
The board is proposing a final dividend of three cents per share, down from four cents in the year-ago period, to be paid on May 10 upon approval.
Including an interim dividend of two cents, this would bring the total dividend for FY2021 to five cents per share, up from the four cents for FY2020.
For the full year, the group recorded a net profit of $279 million, from a loss of $997 million a year ago.
Turnover from continuing operations went up by 43 per cent to $7.8 billion, from $5.4 billion.
Mr Wong noted that the group had secured 2.9 gigawatt (GW) of new renewable energy projects across key markets last tear, and its gross renewables capacity installed and under development will reach 6.1GW upon completion of its 658MW portfolio acquisition in China in the first half of this year.
He added: "Our focus on execution is delivering results and we are pushing confidently towards our target of 10GW of gross installed renewables capacity by 2025."
Sembcorp shares closed at $2.51, down two cents, or 0.8 per cent, on Tuesday.
