SINGAPORE (Jan 24): Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) has announced earnings of $17.1 million for 4Q17, up more than fivefold from $3.1 million a year ago on the back of fair value gains from the reclassification of an associated company to other investments, as well as the disposal of an associated company.
Revenue for the quarter fell 12.1% to $43.7 million from $49.7 million in 4Q16, mainly due to lower warehousing revenue from the Logistics Division along with the absence of revenue from the disposal of subsidiaries.
Share of profits from associated companies and joint ventures, however, grew by 16% on-year to $11.1 million over 4Q.
This was largely attributable to contributions from KDC SGP 3 and Keppel DC REIT Management, which were reclassified to associates in the Data Centre Division following the partial disposal of the group’s stakes in Jan 2017 and July 2016, respectively.
The 4Q results brings Keppel T&T’s earnings for the full year to $51.8 million, down 50.7% from $105.1 million a year ago and translating to FY17 earnings per share (EPS) of 9.3 cents compared to 18.9 cents in FY16.
As at end 2017, cash and cash equivalents amounted to $96 million compared to $127 million at end-2016.
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A dividend of 3.5 cents per share is to be paid to shareholders on 9 May 2018.
“Keppel T&T is evolving to better meet the fast changing needs of our customers in the logistics and data centre industries. As we sharpen our core capabilities, we are also adapting our business model and optimising operations to meet the challenges and ride the digitalisation wave,” says Thomas Pang, CEO of Keppel T&T.
“Our collaboration with the US$1 billion Alpha Data Centre Fund for instance, will enable us to seize more opportunities in the development, operations and maintenance, and management of data centre assets. This will help to grow our bottom line and sources of recurring income over the long term,” he adds.
See: Keppel Data Centres injects interest in Keppel DC Singapore 4 into Alpha Data Centre Fund
Shares in Keppel T&T closed 1 cent higher at $1.70.
