ASL Marine's profits plunge

Singapore: ASL Marine's first half profits plunged 48.2% to S$20.8m due to higher costs for its shipbuilding business and pressure on shiprepair margins. ASL, which owns shipyards in Singapore, Indonesia and China, reported an 11.8% jump in first half revenues to S$253m however found its margins under pressure. The company said it expected demand for new shipbuilding orders to remain subdued as a result of slugglish economic recovery and oversupply of vessels in some areas of shipping. However ASL said its outlook for its shiprepair and ship chartering businesses remained "reasonably positive". [11/02/10]