COSCO shipbuilder Cosco Corp (Singapore) has announced a record net profit for the year, an increase of 30 per cent to S$12.6 million (US$10 million) drawn on revenues of S$1.04 billion, up 42 per cent.

Despite the good fortune, led by repair and engineer work, the company expects challenging business conditions into 2014 with its order book down to S$7.6 billion against last year's S$7.8 billion.

"Due to new tonnage accumulation in the past years, any possible market recovery in the dry bulk shipping segment will be a slow process with uncertainty," said a company statement.