[SINGAPORE] Shares of Keppel rallied on Thursday (Feb 5) after the asset manager posted a 27.2 per cent increase in second-half earnings and announced former DBS chief Piyush Gupta as its chairman-designate.
The counter jumped 5.9 per cent or S$0.65 to S$11.60 as at 3.08 pm, with more than 12.1 million shares changing hands.
Shares of Keppel closed at S$11.62, S$0.67 or 6.1 per cent higher, with more than 16 million shares traded.
This marks the highest price that Keppel shares have hit in more than 12 years, since the start of 2014.
H2 earnings
Keppel’s net profit rose 27.2 per cent to S$645.4 million for H2 ended December, from S$507.5 million in the same period the year before. This brought its FY2025 net profit to S$1.1 billion, a 39 per cent increase from S$793 million in FY2024.
The improvements were attributed to profit growth across all its three business segments of infrastructure, real estate and connectivity.
Keppel has proposed a S$0.47 per share final dividend for the financial year. This comprises ordinary cash dividends of S$0.34 per share and a special dividend of S$0.13 per share proposed by the board.
Separately on Thursday, the asset manager named former DBS chief executive officer and Temasek India chairman Gupta as chairman-designate.
The 66-year-old will assume the role of chairman from Apr 17, having been appointed as Keppel’s deputy chairman and non-executive independent director in July 2025.
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