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DEMAND
for ship repair and conversion remains strong,
Singaporean shipyard operator Keppel Philippines Marine
Inc. said in a report on its financial results for the
first three months of the year.
Ship
repair and conversion are two of its core operations
that allowed Keppel Philippines to turn in a net profit
P135.13 million during the first quarter. The amount
reflects a 60-percent increase from P84.64 million the
company made a year earlier.
“The
company expects to keep with its performance last year,”
Keppel Philippines said. Its two major shipyards are in
the central Philippine
province
of Cebu and in Batangas, southwest of the main island
Luzon.
The
company said its subsidiaries, which include a minority
stake in Subic Shipyard and Engineering Inc., posted
P662 million in revenue, up 10 percent from a year
earlier.
Revenues
from ship repair and conversion of vessels to other
types of ships totaled P339 million, or 51 percent of
total sales.
Sales
from shipbuilding and oil-rig fabrication totaled P323
million.
Keppel
Philippines said it posted an operating profit P87.1
million, up by 20 percent.
Investment and net interest income and other income,
however, were down by 9 percent to P13.3 million, from
P14.6 million, as a result of lower interest rates on
short-term placements and foreign-exchange loss.
Results
of associated companies during the quarter showed an
increase of P30.8 million, particularly because of Subic
Shipyard, the company said.
The
company earlier said it will “continue to seize
opportunities in the buoyant shipping industry” and
secure more conversion contracts for floating
production, storage and off-loading vessels, also known
as FPSO, and single-hulled tankers to double-hulled
other types of ships.
“[Keppel
Philippines] will play a bigger role in the offshore-rig
fabrication business and expand its shipbuilding
portfolio to include specialized vessels. The company…
will aim to secure high-value contracts in shipbuilding,
offshore oil-rig fabrication, ship repair and
conversion,” it said in a report. It did not mention its
revenue targets and capital expenditures for the year.
Lat
September Keppel
Philippines
signed a registration agreement with the Philippine
Economic Zone Authority as an Ecozone Export Enterprise
at shipyard operations in Bauan, Batangas.
The
company is 81.25-percent owned by Singapore-based KS
Investments Pte Ltd., the rest by various Filipino
investors that include Henry Sy and the SM group and the
Philippine National Oil Co.-Shipping and Transport Corp. |
