Keppel's net profit grows 23.7% to $260.4m in Q1

Infrastructure and investment gave its bottom line a boost.

Keppel Corporation (KEP) reported a rise in net profit for the past quarter, up 23.7% to $260.4m. This came even with the 28.4% fall in revenue to $1.25b.

The strong bottom line was given a boost by the infrastructure division, which recorded a $37m yields due to higher contributions from energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Keppel's investment division also reported strong gains, ending the quarter with a $181m yield.

According to OCBC Investment Research, this was bumped up by one-off items such as $46m of writeback of impairment of investments, $32m gain on disposal from the sale of 80% interest in PT Sentral Tunjungan Perkasa, as well as $44m gain from the sale of interest in GE Keppel Energy Services Pte Ltd and Cityone Development (Wuxi) Co.

"We estimate recurring net profit of about S$113m, dragged by the offshore marine segment which broke even in 1Q17. The property division, which has lumpy quarterly contributions, saw a 48% YoY fall in revenue to $262m with lower revenue from China and Singapore," the brokerage firm said.