Singapore’s Keppel Corp, the world’s largest rig-builder, reported on Thursday a forecast-beating 141% rise in its first quarter net profit, helped by a jump in earnings from its property division.
The company posted a net profit of $750.8 million for the three month ended March 31,The profit was ahead of the average forecast of $359.8 million of five analysts surveyed by Reuters.
The jump in earnings was largely due the recognition of earnings from Keppel Land’s Reflections at Keppel Bay luxury condominium project.
Many of the units had been sold under a deferred payment scheme and the earnings were recognised in the current quarter, Keppel said.
Keppel and Singapore rival Sembcorp Marine, the world’s number two rig builder, have seen strong orders over the past year as oil companies step up exploration activity amid stubbornly high oil prices.
Keppel recently surprised investors and analysts when they signed letter of intend to build five semisubmersible rigs, valued at US$4.1 billion ($5.1 billion) in total, from Sete Brasil.
Keppel’s shares have risen by 24% so far this year, outperforming the 13.7% increase in Singapore’s Straits Times Index.
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