Keppel Corporation Limited has posted an 8.4 percent increase in profit to S$346.3 million for the three months that ended September 30 from S$319.6 million over the same period last year, driven by improved earnings and margins from its offshore business.
For the nine months that ended September 30, the group posted a 10.1 percent increase in net profit to S$1.01 billion from S$922 million over the same period last year.
Earnings per share climbed 10 percent to 63.5 cents for the first nine months in 2010 from 57.9 cents over the same period last year, while annualised ROE remained more than 20 percent.
However, the group, which also conducts businesses in property, energy and environmental engineering, saw a 20.4 percent decline in revenue to S$7.3 billion for the first nine months this year compared to S$9.2 billion last year.
Demand for rigs and other offshore vessels saw a sharp decline during the economic recession. The condition was exacerbated by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting authorities to impose a ban on drilling activities in the area.
However, the ban was revoked earlier in October, which could greatly benefit the group, said Keppel.
“We are able to weather the storms well and effectively ride on the uneven global recovery,” said Choo Chiau Beng, chief executive of the group.
Mr. Choo added that “the outlook for the group as a whole in the near term is good, notwithstanding some immediate challenges which our industries are currently facing”.