STE reports 11.9% drop in Q1 profit

ST Engineering Ltd (STE), South-East Asia’s largest defence group, has reported an 11.9% drop in first-quarter net profit but expects 2003 pre-tax profit to be comparable with last year’s. 

For the three months to March 31, the group's net profit fell to S$73.48mil due to lower interest income and start-up losses at its marine unit. But STE, which depends on the Singapore military for about half its profit, reported a 1.9% rise in revenue to S$645.36mil for the quarter.