Singapore’s Keppel said on Thursday it remains on track to achieve its full-year asset monetisation target of S$2 billion to S$3 billion after announcing about S$1.7 billion of deals so far this year, as the asset manager and operator continues to recycle capital into higher-growth businesses.
The company has completed and realised about S$560 million of non-core asset monetisation as of end-June, with 10-15% of the proceeds earmarked to fund special dividends for fiscal 2026, it said.
The biggest step in its capital recycling programme came this week when Keppel secured a $1.5 billion capital commitment from Apollo Global Management for the newly launched Keppel Offshore Fund, creating a pathway to monetise up to S$3.7 billion of legacy offshore rigs.
The first six operational rigs are expected to generate about S$611 million in cash proceeds this year, while the remaining four rigs could unlock another S$1.3 billion in 2027 and 2028 as they are completed and sold into the fund.
Chief Executive Chin Hua Loh said the transaction would improve Keppel’s balance sheet while expanding its fee-generating asset management business.
“We have also announced a solution for our legacy rigs that would generate cash and create a new fund with opportunities to ride the improvement in the offshore market as well as generate fee income for Keppel,” Loh said.
The company reported S$530-million net profit from its core businesses for the six months ended June 30, up 25% from a year earlier, driven by higher recurring income and stronger contributions from sponsor stakes and co-investments.
Recurring income rose 13% to S$467 million, while sponsor stakes and co-investments contributed S$175 million, compared with S$18 million a year earlier.
Including losses from its non-core portfolio, mainly due to impairments on legacy rig assets and costs related to the terminated sale of its M1 telecommunications business, overall net profit fell to S$155 million.
Keppel also surpassed its interim target of S$100 billion in funds under management, reaching S$106 billion at the end of July, as it accelerates its transition into a global asset manager. The company generated S$200 million in asset management fees during the first half and has a deal pipeline of about S$33 billion, with more than half in infrastructure and connectivity.
The board declared an unchanged interim dividend of 15 Singapore cents per share.
