Singapore Engineering Q4 Tender

SINGAPORE Technologies ST Engineering reported a 26 per cent drop in net profit to S124.5 million for its fourth quarter from S168.1 million a year ago after one-off pre-tax charges of S25 million related to portfolio rationalisation and its acquisition of General Electrics MRA Systems.Excluding the one-time charges pre-tax profit would have been seven per cent higher at S185.6 million and net profit would be up one per cent at S149.1 million if the prior years one-off favourable US tax adjustment of S20 million was excluded as well the company said in a regulatory filing before Thursdays market open.Revenue for the three months to Dec 31 rose 5 per cent higher to S1.77 billion.For the full year net profit dipped 1.7 per cent to S494.2 million from S502.6 million the year before. The decrease was due to weaker performance from its land systems sector one-time costs incurred for early redemption of its medium-term notes and lower contribution from its Miltope computer business. Revenue for the year grew 3 per cent to S6.7 billion from S6.5 billion the year before.Earnings per share EPS for the year worked out to 15.85 Singapore cents from 16.13 cents for 2017. ST Engineering shares closed at S3.77 per share on Wednesday. Net asset value per share for the full year stood at 72 Singapore cents on a group level up from 71.09 cents the year before.A final dividend has been declared at 10 Singapore cents per share. An interim dividend of 5 Singapore cents per share paid on Aug 28 2018 brings total payout for the year to 15.0 cents per share unchanged from the preceding year.Further breaking down its financials ST Engineering said excluding one-off charges of S32.6 million after tax in FY2018 and absence of prior years one-off favourable US tax adjustment of S20.3 million net profit for the year would have been nine per cent higher at S526.8 million.The companys land systems sectors full-year net profit fell S34.5 million or 39 per cent to 52.9 million from S87.4 million the year before. This was largely driven by one-off charges due to portfolio rationalisation and absence of prior years one off US tax adjustment. Other reasons include the divestment impact of its road construction business in India and full impairment charges for its road construction business and automotive maintenance repair and overhaul MRO business in Brazil.For its aerospace sector net profit was flat at S244.6 million compared with S244.8 million the year before. Higher gross profit and net gain on divestments were offset by higher operating expenses largely from acquisition related expenses and higher tax expense.Its electronics sector saw a record net profit of S186.5 million up 10 per cent or S17.7 million from S168.8 million the year prior. This was due to higher gross profit in line with higher revenue and lower operating expenses partially offset by share of losses from associates and joint ventures.Meanwhile the companys marine sector recorded a net profit of S45.2 million up 67 per cent from S27 million the year before from higher gross profits and lower operating expenses partially offset by higher tax expense.Vincent Chong president and CEO ST Engineering said that excluding one-off charges mainly incurred to rationalise its portfolio the underlying operating performance of the companys business sectors remained strong.We continue to invest in growth initiatives and capabilities including data analytics and cybersecurity to drive long-term sustainable growth backed by a healthy level of order book that provides revenue visibility for the next few years he added.