Rotary Engineering's Q4 profit more than doubles to S$11.79m, revenue plunges 31%

DESPITE lower revenues, Rotary Engineering's Q4 FY14 net profit more than doubled to S$11.79 million for the three months ended Dec 31, 2014.

Over the same period, revenue for the oil and gas infrastructure services company plunged 31 per cent to S$125.68 million.

There was a significant improvement in the company's gross profit margin from 10 to 18 per cent, as a result of smooth project execution and its productivity improvement efforts. Share of results from associates also improved on the disposal of a loss-making associate which runs the waste-to-energy plant, the group said in a statement.

It added that tax was higher relative to profits in the same quarter last year due to losses on overseas subsidiaries for which no deferred tax benefits have been recognised.

Rotary's FY14 net profit also more than doubled to S$50.08 million, while revenue grew 16 per cent to S$687.66 million on the back of increased business activities from the execution of major projects.

For the three months ended Dec 31, 2014, earnings per share stood at 2.1 cents while net asset value per share was 45.2 cents.

A final dividend of 2.5 cents per share was declared for the quarter, compared to a dividend of 1.5 cents for the corresponding period a year ago.

Before the results announcement on Wednesday, Rotary's counter closed trading up 0.93 per cent at S$0.545.