MAINBOARD-LISTED Boustead Singapore reported a net profit of S$7.5 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, down 18 per cent year-on-year largely due to an absence of other gains that were present in Q4 2017.

Revenue rose by 28 per cent over the same period to S$116.72 million, while earnings per share fell to 1.5 cents from 1.8 cents in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, net profit fell 24 per cent to S$25.39 million and revenue dipped 5 per cent to S$414.1 million. The infrastructure engineering company attributed the decline to currency exchange losses of S$5.0 million, as well as the absence of other gains totalling S$17.0 million in FY2017, which included a tenant's early lease termination compensation and a gain on disposal of an available-for-sale financial asset.

The board is proposing a final ordinary dividend of 2 cents per share in addition to the interim ordinary dividend of 1 cent per share. The total ordinary dividend for FY2018 will be 3 cents per share to be paid out on Aug 17, a 50 per cent increase from 2 cents per share in FY2017.