UPDATE 1-Sembcorp Marine Q3 net profit up; to build yard

* Net profit S$144.6 mln vs consensus S$140.9 mln

* To build new yard, first phase to cost S$750 mln

* Says optimistic about long-term growth of industry

(adds detail on new yard, quote)

SINGAPORE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Sembcorp Marine (SCMN.SI), the world's second-biggest offshore rig maker, will build a new yard in Singapore to tap business in the energy sector after posting a better-than-expected 3 percent rise in quarterly net profit.

The company said the first phase of the project will cost S$750 million ($537 million) which will be funded by mostly bank loans.

Sembcorp Marine said the fundamentals for the sector remain intact with oil prices in the $70-$80 a barrel range, and it expects a good business outlook for its ship repair business for the rest of 2009.

"With the new yard, Sembcorp Marine will be well-poised to respond to the anticipated growth in dock capacity demand and the increase in offshore oil and gas activities, spurred by the projected increase in seaborne and oil trades in Asia," CEO Wong Weng Sun said in a statement.

Sembcorp Marine earned S$144.6 million in the three months to September, compared with S$140.9 million a year ago. The profit was higher than Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimates of S$132 million.

Keppel Corp (KPLM.SI), the world's largest offshore oil rig builder, last month posted a 17 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, but its orderbook slid as it faces a cyclical industry downturn. [ID:nSGC003340]

Sembcorp Marine and Keppel have benefited from a jump in oil exploration in recent years as crude prices CLc1 soared to record highs, but new rig orders have dropped significantly as oil prices retreated.

However a senior executive at Keppel told Reuters in an interview last month that the recent rally in oil prices, currently around $80 a barrel, might new spending on exploration and production by oil companies. [ID:nSIN485606]

Sembcorp shares have more than doubled so far this year, outpacing the 85 percent gain in Keppel Corp and the 50 percent rise in the broader index .FTSTI. ($1=1.397 Singapore Dollar) (Reporting by Harry Suhartono; Editing by Lincoln Feast)