Sembcorp Industries' profits jumped 21% to $93m in Q1

Its profit from its energy business grew 21% to $85m.

Sembcorp Industries started the year on a positive note as profits climbed 21% YoY to $93m in Q1 from $77m in the same period a year ago, thanks to the improved performance from its energy business.

The energy business’ net profit rose 21% to $85m from $70m a year ago, mainly driven by improved performance from India and recognition of peak winter availability payments for UK Power Reserve. The firm noted that it signed contracts for over 10MW-peak of rooftop solar to date and completed a 2.8MW-peak rooftop solar farm atop YCH Group’s flagship facility, Supply Chain City, in Singapore.

On the other hand, profit from urban businesses fell 30% to $7m due to lower land sales in China. The marine business also succumbed to a profit of less than $1m from $2m a year ago due to continued lower overall business volume.

The firm’s earnings per share climbed 29% to $0.468 from $0.364 a year ago.

“The energy and urban businesses continue to underpin the group’s performance. However, the market environment continues to be challenging in 2019, especially for the offshore and marine sector,” the firm said in its financial report.