It made a net profit of SGD 254m ($204m) for the six months ended 30 June 2014, versus the SGD 244m seen a year ago.

The Singapore-listed shipyard group said the result was achieved “amid still challenging market conditions”.

Revenue grew 23% year-on-year to $2.7bn, thanks mainly to increased contributions from its rig and offshore platform projects.

Turnover for Sembcorp Marine’s rig building arm increased 36% year-on-year from SGD 1.2bn