Rotary Engg Q1 earnings shoot up to $14.4m

THANKS to a near doubling in revenue and better gross profit margin, Rotary Engineering posted a quantum leap in first-quarter earnings.

The specialist oil-and- gas contractor recorded a net profit of $14.4 million or 2.5 cents per share for the January-March quarter, up from $2.5 million or 0.4 cent per share a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter was $199.2 million - up from $102.8 million a year ago - as execution of its current projects gained momentum.

"We started this year on a good note," said chairman and managing director Chia Kim Piow at a briefing yesterday. "The good and encouraging Q1 results were in part contributed by our productivity efforts in an environm…