SINGAPORE – Singapore Technologies Engineering’s (ST Engineering) profit for the second half of the year ended December declined 7.1 per cent to $255 million due to energy inflation, higher expenses at subsidiary TransCore and reduced government support, the group said on Friday.

Revenue in the second half was, however, 17.9 per cent higher at $4.8 billion from $4 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Earnings per share for the full year fell to 17.18 cents from 18.3 cents previously.

The group has proposed a final dividend of four cents, to be paid on May 9 after books closure on April 27.

ST Engineering’s full-year profit dipped 6.2 per cent to $535 million from $570.5 million a year ago, while revenue gained 17.4 per cent to $9 billion, up from $7.7 billion in 2021.

By segment, revenue for the group’s commercial aerospace arm grew 21 per cent to nearly $3 billion on the back of aviation recovery in the post-pandemic environment.

Group president and chief executive Vincent Chong said he expects further improvement in this segment, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and with the reopening of China.

The group’s urban solutions and satellite communications arm registered a 49 per cent gain in revenue to $1.8 billion, while its defence and public security segment posted a 6 per cent growth to $4.3 billion.

Mr Chong noted that all segments won new contracts, amounting to an order book of $23 billion.

“We are well positioned and are optimistic about our future to deliver strong shareholder value,” he added.

The company’s shares rose one cent, or 0.3 per cent, to $3.56 as at 10.52am on Friday, after the earnings announcement. THE BUSINESS TIMES