SINGAPORE's Sembcorp Industries forecast a stronger second half on Thursday after interim profit plunged 25%, hurt by weakness across all its divisions.
Shares of the Singapore-headquartered utility firm fell as much as 3.9% to S$5.5 and were on track for their biggest single-day drop in more than a month.
Underlying net profit for the six months ended June 30 fell to S$369 million ($288.19 million) from S$491 million a year earlier.
The Temasek-backed company expects second-half underlying net profit to exceed the first half, powered by contributions from Australian electricity generator Alinta Energy, which it acquired last year for A$6.5 billion ($4.58 billion).
It also anticipates better performance from its flagship gas and related services business and higher land sales from its integrated urban solutions segment.
Underlying earnings at its main gas and related services business fell 14% in the first six months due to weaker Singapore generation spreads and the loss of a UK customer.
Earnings at the renewables unit nearly halved as China's shift to market-based power pricing hit performance, with seasonal and tariff pressures expected to persist into the second half.
"As an integrated energy player, we are well-positioned to capture structural demand growth from data centres and AI-related infrastructure," CEO Wong Kim Yin said.
Sembcorp proposed an interim dividend of 11 Singapore cents per share, compared with 9 Singapore cents apiece a year earlier.
($1 = 1.2804 Singapore dollars) ($1 = 1.4186 Australian dollars) - Reuters
