Singapore’s Keppel posts 66% jump in half-year profit as businesses rebound

Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp reported a 66 per cent rise in first-half profit on Thursday (Jul 28), helped by higher earnings across most of its main businesses and a rebound in performance at its offshore and marine (O&M) unit.

Keppel, which traces its roots to a small ship repair yard corporatised in 1968, has seen its renewable energy and asset management units bounce back this year, offsetting a decline in its urban development business.

Business at the O&M unit, Keppel’s second-biggest which it is merging which Sembcorp Marine, also rebounded in recent months amid a rise in global oil prices.

“In an extended inflationary environment, demand for real assets with cash flow, such as those which Keppel develops, operates and manages, will continue to grow,” Chief Executive Loh Chin Hua said.

The company posted a net profit of S$498 million for the six months to Jun 30, compared to S$300 million a year earlier.

Keppel proposed an interim dividend of 15 Singapore cents per share, compared with 12 Singapore cents a year earlier.