SINGAPORE'S Keppel posted a 25 percent rise in half-year profit on Thursday on the back of stronger contributions from asset management and operating segment that include its infrastructure business.
The asset manager's net profit, excluding the noncore portfolio for divestment, rose to S$530 million ($411.4 million) for the six months ended June, compared with S$431 million reported a year earlier.
The infrastructure arm, Keppel's biggest contributor to earnings, recorded a 55 percent increase in profit to S$339 million, driven by robust performance in the integrated power business, outweighing softer spark spreads and the impact of the Middle East conflict on costs.
Profit rose 54 percent at the connectivity division, which operates Keppel's data center business, cashing in on rising demand for AI and digital infrastructure. The segment commercialized all five of its Bifrost Cable System fiber pairs.
Meanwhile, its real estate segment posted a net loss of S$19 million, extending a decline from last quarter due to the absence of gains from a partial disposal of Saigon Center last year.
Keppel declared an interim dividend of 15 Singapore cents apiece, matching the interim dividend declared last year.