Sembcorp Marine 1st-Quarter Net Profit Down 28% on Year -- Update

Sembcorp Marine Ltd. (S51.SG) on Thursday reported a 28% fall in first-quarter net profit year over year but said it was upbeat about its prospects.

Net profit in the March quarter was 39.5 million Singapore dollars (US$28.3 million), compared with S$54.8 million in the same period last year, the rig builder said in a regulatory filing. That included a S$47 million gain from the sale of the company's 30% equity stake in Cosco Shipyard Group Co., which was completed in January.

Revenue fell 17.2% from a year ago to S$760.1 million in the first quarter.

Sembcorp Marine said it expects stabilized oil prices to push up global exploration and production spending in 2017, compared with in the past two years when falling prices forced budgets to be slashed.

Inquiries for nondrilling solutions continued to be "encouraging," Sembcorp Marine said, adding that it was "cautiously optimistic" of getting new orders for production facilities in coming years.

Customer interest in liquefied-natural-gas solutions and capabilities also remains strong against a backdrop of rising global demand for gas, the company said.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2017 07:55 ET (11:55 GMT)