(Reuters) -Singapore’s Keppel Corp on Thursday reported a more than seven-fold jump in its first-half profit boosted by a one-off gain from the sale of its offshore and marine unit and strong performance from the infrastructure business.
Keppel sold its offshore and marine business in February for S$4.50 billion ($3.40 billion) to Sembcorp Marine, recognising a gain of S$3.3 billion, as it aims to transform into an asset manager overseeing $150 billion by 2030 and focus on green energy.
Net profit for the first-half ending June 30 rose to S$3.63 billion ($2.75 billion) from last year’s S$498 million.
Keppel, which traces its roots to a small ship repair yard corporatised in 1968, proposed an interim dividend of 15.0 Singapore cents per share, the same as last year.
($1 = 1.3231 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
