Sembcorp Marine Swings to Profit in Third Quarter

Sembcorp Marine Ltd. (S51.SG) Tuesday swung to a small net profit in the third quarter from a year earlier, and said global exploration and production spending continued to show signs of improvement.

In the July-to-September period, the company, one of the world's biggest rig builders, posted a net profit of 2.7 million Singapore dollars (US$1.98 million). It had reported a net loss of S$21.8 million in the year-earlier period.

The company had been expected to post a net profit of S$27.2 million, according to FactSet.

Sembcorp Marine said revenue for the latest quarter dropped to S$316.9 million from S$888 million a year ago. The lower revenue was due mainly to lower rig building revenue, fewer floater and offshore platforms projects, and order cancellations, the company said.

Sembcorp Marine said recent stabilization of drilling-rig day rates and utilization levels, coupled with increased activities in secondary-rig sales, indicate the beginning of a recovery in the drilling segment.

Sembcorp Marine's new orders totaled S$2.07 billion so far this year, it added.

Write to Saurabh Chaturvedi at saurabh.chaturvedi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 31, 2017 06:18 ET (10:18 GMT)