SINGAPORE – SIA Engineering (SIAEC) on Monday reported a 9.7 per cent fall in net profit in its fiscal third quarter as it warned of an uncertain near-term global economic outlook.

For the three months ended December, net profit fell to S$60.5 million, even as revenue increased by 2 per cent to S$283.8 million, SIAEC said.

Expenditure was 4.7 per cent higher at S$258.6 million, mainly from staff costs, subcontract and material costs. There was also a smaller exchange gain of S$0.1 million in the current period as compared with a gain of S$1.6 million in the third quarter of last year.

SIAEC said: “Rising business costs, particularly labour cost, present challenges to our operating environment. This will continue to put pressure on MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) yields.” But it added that “the group remains focused on managing costs by pursuing improvements in productivity and enhancing operating efficiencies. Overall, the performance of the group is expected to remain stable.”