Keppel board okays subscription to 40% of new holding firm

MANILA, Philippines - The board of Keppel Philippines Marine Inc. (KPMI) has approved the proposed subscription by the company of up to a maximum of 40 percent of the outstanding shares of a corporation set to be capitalized at P288 million.

The still-to-be-formed corporation will act as a holding company, KPMI disclosed, although no additional details were revealed.

KPMI, formerly Kepphil Shipyard,  is in the business of ship repair, shipbuilding and fabrication. Vessels are brought by their owners to the yard for repair and after successful completion of the repair work, these vessels sail out of the yard and redelivered to owners.

KPMI’s two wholly-owned subsidiaries are Keppel Cebu Shipyard Inc. and Keppel Batangas Shipyard Inc. KPMI also has a 40 percent interest in Goodstart Properties Inc., which is involved in property holding and development.

During the second quarter of this year, KMPI posted revenues of P486.5 million, 19.5 percent lower than that of the same period last year. Keppel Cebu Shipyard ceased operations last year and is now dormant.

Keppel Batangas has taken a shipbuilding/fabrication job for the construction of a floating crane barge and will be delivered before the end of the year.

Net income for the second quarter of 2010 was at P168.2 million as against P68.9 million last year. Operating profit was recorded at P120.2 million, much higher compared to a loss of P4.5 million in the same period last year mainly due to lower operating costs and expenses.

Company officials earlier said the forward stemming of vessels for repair for the third quarter of this year is quite strong with major repair works coming from both the domestic and foreign market.

They added that stemming for the fourth quarter will be potentially coming from both foreign and domestic customers.

For the first six months of 2010, KPMI reported a net profit of P353.4 million as against P229.6 million in the same period last year.

Sales revenues registered at P486.5 million during the January-June period compared with P604.7 million last year.

KPMI is 95.8 percent owned by KS Investments Pte of Singapore. Its ultimate parent is Keppel Corp. also of Singapore, which is engaged in the business of offshore and marine, property and infrastructure.

KPMI earlier acquired a 41.6 percent equity interest in Subic Shipyard and Engineering Inc. from International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) for P636.8 million.