ST Engineering's full-year net profit dips 0.5 per cent to $529m

ST Engineering's full-year net profit dips 0.5 per cent to $529m

SINGAPORE Technologies (ST) Engineering on Friday reported net profit of S$140.8 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015, compared to S$140.3 million for the year-ago period.

This came on the back of a 3.78 per cent fall in revenue to S$1.78 billion, compared to S$1.85 billion one year ago.

For the full year, net profit was down 0.5 per cent to S$529.04 million, from S$532 million in 2014. Revenue for the year fell 3.1 per cent to S$6.33 billion, from S$6.54 billion one year ago.

The company recommended a final dividend of 10 Singapore cents a share for 2015, comprising an ordinary dividend of five Singapore cents a share and a special dividend of five Singapore cents a share. Together with the interim ordinary dividend of five Singapore cents per share paid on Sept 3, 2015, the total dividend for the year will be 15 Singapore cents per share and amounts to S$467.7 million.

In 2014, it paid a final dividend of four Singapore cents a share and a special dividend of seven Singapore cents a share. Taken with an interim dividend of four Singapore cents, the total dividend paid by the company in 2014 was also 15 Singapore cents which amounted to S$468.2 million.

Earnings per share for the full year were 17.04 cents, the same as last year.

At a results briefing on Friday, Tan Pheng Hock, ST Engineering's president and chief executive officer, said strong performance from the electronics sector, as well as a stronger US dollar, cushioned the weak results from the group's shipbuilding business.

Comparing this year's earnings with last year's for the various business sectors, Mr Tan noted that the revenue and profit before tax (PBT) for the aerospace sector were comparable at S$2.09 billion and S$290.6 million respectively.

Revenue for the electronics sector was up 8 per cent at S$1.71 billion compared to S$1.58 billion while PBT of S$191 million was comparable to 2014, he said.

The land systems sector posted a comparable revenue of S$1.4 billion with higher PBT of S$65 million, up 16 per cent from S$56.2 million, mainly due to lower allowance for inventory obsolescence and lower goodwill impairment.

The marine sector posted revenue of S$0.96 billion, down 29 per cent from S$1.34 billion, and PBT of S$88.3 million, down 28 per cent from S$122.8 million, due to weaker shipbuilding performance from both Singapore and US operations.

Commercial sales accounted for 64 per cent or S$4 billion of ST Engineering's revenue at the end of 2015. The revenue mix comprised the aerospace sector at 33 per cent, electronics sector (27 per cent), land systems sector (22 per cent) and marine sector (15 per cent).

Barring unforeseen circumstances, ST Engineering expects fiscal 2016 revenue to be higher, while PBT is expected to be comparable to that of fiscal 2015. For the aerospace and electronics sectors, it expects revenue to be higher during the current fiscal year, while PBT will be comparable to the last fiscal year.

For land systems sector, the company expects fiscal 2016 revenue to be comparable, while PBT is expected to be lower than fiscal 2015. For marine sector, revenue is expected to be higher, while PBT is expected to be lower than fiscal 2015.

At the close of markets, ST Engineering was up four Singapore cents at S$2.85.

amit@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on February 27, 2016.
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