Hot stock: SembMarine queried again as share price rises 6%

SEMBCORP Marine (SembMarine) was queried by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) again - for the second time in six months - after its share price rose as much as 6.1 per cent to an intra-day high of S$1.38 on Thursday.

SGX wanted to know if the company was aware of any information not previously announced that might explain its trading. In a statement later in the afternoon, SembMarine responded, saying that it was not aware of any such information.

SembMarine's counter has been falling since it announced on July 28 that its earnings plunged 90 per cent for the second quarter, as revenue dropped by a quarter, and finance costs and other non-operating expenses grew.

Net profit for the group fell to S$11.5 million for the three months ended June 30, down from S$109.2 million in the same period last year. Revenue slumped 25 per cent to S$908.5 million, as requests by customers to defer deliveries led to lower revenue recognition for rig building projects.

On July 28, when Swiber Holdings applied to the courts to be wound up (initially), prices of offshore and marine counters all round were also hit.

On Wednesday, SembMarine had closed down two cents or 1.5 per cent to S$1.30.