The Singapore-based group reported 6% increases in pretax and net profits in FY2017 on marginally lower sales of $6.6bn.
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd reported increases in before tax and net profits for FY2017 ending 31st December, as sales declined slightly, to $6.6bn ($6.62bn vs. 6.68bn the previous year).
Group profit before tax (PBT) improved 6%, to $623.3m, while net profit increased by the same margin, to $511.9m.
The Aerospace sector remains the group's largest business area, accounting for 38% of total revenue. For the full year, the Aerospace sector posted revenue of $2.54b (+2%) with a PBT of $317.8m (+6%) and stable net profit of $244.1m. Results were boosted by a strong fourth quarter, featuring significant improvements in revenue ($740m, +9%), PBT (94.5m, +10%) and net profits ($86.4m, +14%).
The order book stood at $13.2b (+14%) on 31st December. About $3.8b of this total is expected to be delivered in 2018. The company booked orders worth around $5.1b, including about $2.8b for the Aerospace sector, and about $2.3b for the Electronics sector.
Vincent Chong, President & CEO, ST Engineering, said he expected solid growth in the coming year from the Aerospace sector, as the A330 and A320 passenger-to-freighter conversion programmes gain momentum, and from the smart city offerings emanating from the Electronics and Land Systems sectors in Singapore and overseas.
Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), the group's JV with Airbus, recently announced a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Guangdong Aerocity Holding Co., Ltd. (GDA) for a potential order of 10 A320 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions. The LoI was signed just a day after EFW announced it had secured a launch contract for an order of 10 A321P2F conversions at Singapore Airshow 2018.