Construction group Wee Hur Holdings more than trebled its net profit to $13.1 million from $4.1 million for the first nine months.

Revenue for the period ended Sept 30 was up 34 per cent to $245.6 million, mainly due to the contribution from property development business.

This also helped gross profit to soar to $31.8 million from $16.2 million previously.

Earnings per share rose to 1.53 cents from 0.61 cent previously while net asset value per share slipped to 23 cents compared to 25 cents as at Dec 31.

Wee Hur noted that the recent hike in local construction demand forecast by the Building and Construction Authority for 2013, 2014 and 2015 augurs well for construction players.

Its strong construction order book of $326.3 million as at Sept 30 will provide it with a continuous flow of activity through to 2015.

Last month, the group set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Wee Hur Dormitory, to hold a 60 per cent stake in a joint venture company, Active System Engineering, which has recently been awarded by Jurong Town Corporation to build and operate a 16,800-bed workers' dormitory at Tuas South Avenue 1.

This will cater to foreign workers in the marine, manufacturing and process industries.

Construction of the dormitory will commence soon and is expected to complete in in the second half of 2014.

With 16,800 beds, this dormitory will open a sizeable new recurring revenue stream for Wee Hur.