SembMarine posts fourth quarter net earnings of S$6m

Singapore

SEMBCORP Marine's fourth-quarter net profit fell 95 per cent to S$5.9 million from S$117.3 million a year ago on continued low business volume, but nonetheless beat the expectations of most analysts, some of whom had projected losses.

They said the group's showing is "encouraging" and showed that its turnaround efforts are working.

Full-year net loss came in at S$74.1 million, better than analysts' consensus expectations of a net loss of about S$97 million.

SembMarine shares closed up 6.3 per cent at S$1.68 - the fifth most actively traded stock by value.

For Q4, earnings per share dropped to 0.28 Singapore cent, from 5.61 cents previously.

SembMarine did not declare any dividend for the full year, opting for "a prudent approach to conserving cash in light of the challenging business environment". It had paid o…