United Engineers’ gross profit up 80% to $414.6m in FY14

Thanks to back-to-back disposals.

A series of divestments caused United Engineers’ gross profit to jump 80% to $414.6m in FY14, even as ongoing cooling measures continued to weigh on property development sentiment.

The group’s full-year revenue increased 93% to $3.21 billion mainly due to the consolidation of approximately $2.01 billion in revenue from WBL Corporation and its group of subsidiaries.

During the year, the group generated cash proceeds of approximately $686m and a net disposal gain of approximately $55.2m thanks to the divestment of its stakes in six subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures.

UEL’s attributable profit on continuing operations decreased to $46m in 2014 compared with $89.5m in 2013. The Group’s overall attributable profit from continuing and discontinued operations increased 5% to
$123.6m in 2014 compared with $118.1m in 2013.