Keppel's Third-Quarter Net Profit Rises 30%, Supported by Property Business

Keppel Corp. (BN4.SG) reported a 30% rise in third-quarter net profit, as its property business helped offset the weakness in its main rig-building business.

Net profit in the July-September quarter was 291.8 million Singapore dollars (US$215 million), compared with S$224.5 million in the same period last year, Keppel said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange on Thursday.

Revenue for the period rose 11% from the previous year to S$1.62 billion, the Singapore conglomerate said.

Keppel said its marine unit was able to break even despite the downturn in the offshore business. The division has received orders worth S$1 billion so far this year.

The offshore division currently has S$3.9 billion of orders in hand and will continue to focus on "rightsizing its operations for what is expected to be an extended slowdown" in the industry, Keppel said.

Low crude-oil prices have forced offshore exploration and production firms, Keppel's biggest customers, to hold back investments. The industry has recently started looking up, but only slightly, as analysts expect firmer oil prices to spur demand and start a replacement cycle for aging drilling rigs.

The property division contributed 56% of the conglomerate's income this year, while the infrastructure business brought 30%, Keppel said, adding that it will seek to get more opportunities in sustainable urbanization.

Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 19, 2017 06:17 ET (10:17 GMT)