Keppel Corporation Share Price Q4 net profit rises 11%

SINGAPORE, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Keppel Corp Ltd , the world’s largest rig-builder, reported an 11 percent rise in fourth quarter net profit, helped by a jump in contributions from its infrastructure and property arms.

Keppel Corp posted a net profit of S$389 million for the three month ended Dec 31 versus a restated S$352 million a year ago. The profit was ahead of the average estimate of S$347 million, according to four analysts surveyed by Reuters.Keppel Corp’s property arm, Keppel Corp Land, contributed 20 percent or S$300 million to group full-year net profit.

The property division sold about 480 homes in Singapore last year.They were mainly in suburban projects such as “The Luxurie” in Sengkang and “The Lakefront Residences” in the Jurong Lake District.However, Keppel Corp said that the recent imposition by the government of additional buyer’s stamp duty in Singapore is expected to affect buying sentiment in 2012.

The property unit also sold about 1,400 homes in China last year, mostly in townships.It added that “home sales in China have slowed down due to property cooling measures.”

Keppel Corp has proposed a final dividend of 26 Singapore cents a share, up from 23.7 cents a year ago. Both Keppel Corp and Singapore rival Sembcorp Marine Ltd , the world’s second largest rig builder, have buy recommendations from about 80 percent of analysts covering the stocks.

Keppel’s offshore and marine arm accounted for 71 percent of full-year net profit, but the biggest earnings growth came from its smaller infrastructure and property arms which reported increases of 44 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Keppel Corp shares have risen by around 16 percent so far this year, outpacing the 9 percent rise in the broader Singapore index. (Reporting by Harry Suhartono and Mark Tay; Editing by Anshuman Daga).

The Keppel Group of Companies includes Keppel Offshore & Marine, Keppel Integrated Engineering, Keppel Energy, Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) and Keppel Land, among others.

Keppel Offshore & Marine is the leader in offshore rig design, construction and repair, ship repair and conversion and specialised shipbuilding.

Keppel Integrated Engineering, a provider of environmental solutions and engineering services, offers water and thermal technologies for municipal and industrial clients. Keppel Energy has a track record of developing, owning and operating power plants in Singapore, Asia and Latin America. Keppel T&T is a service provider in Southeast Asia and Europe with businesses in logistics and data centres with operations spanning 12 countries.

Keppel Land is a developer with a portfolio of residential developments, integrated townships and investment-grade commercial properties