Boustead profit drops 10% despite higher first-half revenue
The group raised its interim dividend to S$0.02 per share and reported an engineering order backlog of about S$720 million.
Boustead Singapore posted first-half net earnings of S$31.5 million, down 10 per cent year on year, as pressure on margins and taxation outweighed revenue growth. The engineering and technology group announced the results on Nov 10 for the half-year to Sep 30.
Revenue climbed 38 per cent, reaching S$406.6 million against S$294 million a year earlier. Boustead said its real estate solutions, geospatial and energy engineering businesses all contributed more revenue.
The group cited a weaker gross profit margin and an increased effective income tax rate for the earnings decline. Dilution of its stake in UIB Holdings, an associate of Boustead Projects, also triggered an S$8.4 million reversal relating to its share of net asset value.
Per-share earnings were S$0.062, down from S$0.071. Boustead said H1 FY2027 profit would instead have increased 41 per cent after adjustments covering other gains and losses, impairments and exceptional items, net of non-controlling interests.
Directors declared a cash interim dividend of S$0.02 for each share, an increase of S$0.005. The engineering backlog totalled about S$720 million, comprising S$613 million for real estate solutions and S$107 million for energy engineering.
Chairman and group CEO Wong Fong Fui said Boustead Projects would develop a third aerospace facility for an existing client alongside UI Boustead Real Estate Investment Trust. Boustead Projects targets overseas markets for 25 to 33 per cent of engineering and construction revenue over the next five years while expanding in Malaysia and Vietnam.
