Sembcorp swings back to black with S$46m H1 net profit

SEMBCORP Industries has swung back into the black with a S$46 million net profit for the first half ended June 30, from a net loss of S$42 million in the year-ago period (see amendment note).

This came as the group's turnover rose 26 per cent to S$3.29 billion for the period, from S$2.61 billion the year prior on a continuing operations basis. The increase came mainly from the group's conventional energy segment, which continued to be a key contributor.

The results translate to earnings per share of 2.58 Singapore cents from continuing operations, from a loss per share of 3.31 cents the year before.

Without exceptional items, the group's net profit would have been S$252 million. The group had recognised S$206 million in exceptional items due to a S$212 million impairment made for its 49-per-cent-owned Chongqing Songzao coal-fired power plant in China.

An interim dividend of two Singapore cents per share has been declared for H1 2021, compared with no interim dividend for H1 2020. The interim dividend will be paid out on Aug 24, after the record date on Aug 17.

For the first-half period, the group's conventional energy segment posted a net profit of S$185 million before exceptional items, compared with S$127 million in the previous year. This was driven by better performance in Singapore and India amid higher energy demand and margins compared to H1 2020.

Sembcorp's renewables segment delivered a net profit of S$24 million, compared with S$33 million in H1 2020. The drop was due to lower wind resources for its India wind energy assets.

Meanwhile, the group's integrated urban solutions segment dipped slightly to S$63 million from S$64 million the year before.

Shares of Sembcorp, an energy and urban solutions provider, were trading 1.5 per cent or S$0.03 lower at S$2 as at 1.40pm on Friday.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story compared the latest profit figure with total losses for the year-ago period. The story has been updated to reflect losses from continuing operations only.