Sembcorp to invest $700m in urban solutions segment

It lays out strategic plan for the segment, announces 2% rise in first-half net profit

- Sue-Ann Tan

Sembcorp Industries will invest around $700 million in its integrated urban solutions segment to establish itself as a leading low-carbon industrial park player in Asia, it said on Aug 6.

It announced its strategic plan for the segment alongside its first half results, which saw net profit rise 2 per cent to $540 million after exceptional items and the absence of loss from a discontinued operation.

The one-off items comprised gains from the purchase of a 100 per cent equity interest in two special-purpose vehicles from green energy supplier Leap Green Energy.

Net profit from continuing operations and before exceptional items fell 12 per cent year on year to $532 million from $602 million.

Revenue for the six months to June dropped 12 per cent to $3.21 billion from $3.66 billion previously.

Group president and chief executive Wong Kim Yin said: "Sembcorp produced resilient first-half 2024 results despite lower wholesale power prices and a major maintenance for our gas-fired power plant in Singapore.

"This can be attributed to our contracting strategy. The robust contribution from our portfolio provides a strong anchor for our 2024 to 2028 strategy, with our portfolio of gas and renewable energy uniquely positioned to meet the strong and increasing demand expected from corporate customers, including data centres."