Keppel's first-half profit up 24.2% on infrastructure, real estate earnings

Keppel on July 31 said net profit rose 24.2 per cent year on year to $377.7 million for the first half of 2025, driven by "strong and steady" infrastructure and real estate earnings.

- Benjamin Lim

The asset manager also announced an interim cash dividend of 15 cents per share – the same as a year ago – and a $500 million share buyback programme.

The repurchased shares will be used in part for the annual vesting of employee share plans and possibly for future merger and acquisition activities.

Keppel shares rallied as much as 6.8 per cent, before closing up 3.6 per cent, or 29 cents, at $8.47 on July 31. Some 18.6 million shares changed hands.

The company introduced a new reporting metric – it dubbed "New Keppel" – which excludes non-core portfolio assets held for divestment. Under this metric, its first-half earnings rose 25 per cent year on year to $431 million.

Its earnings growth came despite a 5.2 per cent drop in revenue to $3.06 billion, which was partly due to lower sales of utilities.

Group recurring income rose by 7 per cent to $444 million, while return on equity improved to 15.4 per cent – up from 13.2 per cent a year earlier.