Shares of Keppel Ltd. plummeted 3.17% during Thursday's intraday trading session, as investors reacted to the company's first-half earnings report which revealed a sharp decline in attributable net profit.

The sell-off was triggered by Keppel's announcement that its net profit attributable to shareholders fell 59% to S$155 million for the six months ended June 30, compared to S$378 million a year earlier. The drop was primarily driven by a S$165 million impairment on 13 legacy offshore rigs and suspended depreciation charges related to the aborted sale of M1's telco business, which widened losses in the Non-Core Portfolio for Divestment to S$375 million. This overshadowed the 25% rise in core "New Keppel" net profit to S$530 million, which was supported by stronger contributions from asset management and the infrastructure segment.

Despite the headline profit decline, Keppel maintained an unchanged interim dividend of 15 Singapore cents per share and noted that its core recurring income rose 13% to S$467 million. The company also surpassed its 2026 funds-under-management target early, reaching S$106 billion by end-July.