Singapore’s Sembcorp first-half profit surges 56.3% on energy, renewables boost

BENGALURU - Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries said on Friday it expected fiscal 2023’s underlying earnings to be higher than in 2022 but warned of impact from slow global growth and inflation, after posting a 56 per cent jump in its first-half profit.

The company’s strong performance in the first half of 2023 was driven by the conventional energy segment, which saw higher power prices in the Singapore electricity market and increased operational capacity in the renewables segment, it said.

Net profit before exceptional items for the conventional energy segment – the company’s biggest revenue generator – surged 47 per cent to $435 million in the six months ended June 30.

Net profit before items for the renewables segment jumped 54 per cent to $117 million.

The Singapore state investor Temasek-owned company said its attributable profit from continuing operations for the period was $608 million, compared with $389 million a year ago.

Sembcorp proposed an interim dividend of five cents per share, compared with four cents a year ago.

However, the company warned of impact on business performance on projected slow global growth amid high inflation, tight monetary policy and geopolitical tensions.

The Singapore utilities firm’s integrated urban solutions segment reported a net profit before exceptional items of $48 million for the first half, compared with $62 million in 2022.

The decline was mainly due to lower commercial and residential land sales in the Vietnam urban business, as well as lower earnings from the waste management business in Singapore, it said.

In July, the company said it had terminated plans for the possible sale of its waste management business and its energy-from-waste plant, in a deal that could value the unit at US$500 million (S$669 million). REUTERS