SIA Engineering's salary costs jumped 5.7% to $498.2m

But headcount was flat.

According to OCBC, salary costs increased 5.7% to S$498.2m due to wage increases as headcount stayed roughly flat.

Increase in staff cost was outweighed by decreases in subcontract services (-19.3% to S$136.7m on the back of lower project costs), material cost (-2.2% to S$214.2m) and overheads (-6.3% to S$169.5m), leading expenditure to fall 2.1% to S$1,019m. 

Here's more from OCBC:

Management guides that the group's business is expected to remain stable in the near term while acknowledging that the operating environment remain challenging due to uncertainties regarding the world economy. SIAEC will continue to focus on improving productivity and controlling costs.

Management is continuously evaluating potential investment opportunities.