Keppel Corp., the world’s largest oil-rig maker, said second-quarter profit dropped 53% after the company didn’t repeat one-time gains of last year.

Net income fell to $347.3 million in the three months ended June from $739.5 million a year earlier, the company today said in a Singapore stock exchange statement. Sales dropped 25% to $2.42 billion. A year earlier, profit was boosted by the sale of a stake in Singapore Petroleum Co.

 

Operating income gained 25% in the quarter to $444.6 million after profit at the offshore unit rose and the real-estate division boosted earnings. Demand for offshore structures and rigs is increasing as companies explore deeper waters to meet the growing demand for crude oil.

 

Excluding one-time gains, Keppel’s second-quarter net income rose 9.4% from a year earlier, the company said. Keppel had an exceptional gain of $422.2 million in the year- ago quarter.

 

The company won $1.9 billion of orders in the first half, according to the statement. That brought its total orderbook to $5.0 billion at the end of June.

 

Keppel gained 1.1% to $8.85 on the Singapore exchange today before the earnings announcement. The stock has climbed 10.5% this year, compared with a 2% increase in the 30-member Straits Times Index.

 

Profit at Keppel’s offshore unit advanced 7% to $305 million while sales fell 37% to S$1.43 billion. Operating profit gained 5% to $281 million.

 

Keppel Land, the property unit, said on July 20 second-quarter net income rose 20% to $70.1 million.

 

Keppel sold its stake in Singapore Petroleum, the island- city’s only publicly traded oil refiner, to PetroChina Co. for $1.47 billion in June last year. Keppel and PetroChina agreed to explore opportunities in the offshore oil industry and other areas of mutual interest.

 

Keppel Corp. plans to invest US$50 million ($68.8 million) in acquiring and upgrading a 7.6-hectare shipyard in Brazil. The Singaporean company is also expanding its presence in the Caspian Sea and the Middle East, Choo said.