ComfortDelgro FY2021 earnings jumped 114% to S$130.1m, proposes 2.1 cents per share dividend

Benjamin Cher

Published Mon, Feb 28, 2022 · 06:48 PM

TRANSPORT operator C52 : C52 0%reported a 114 per cent increase in FY2021 earnings to S$130.1 million from S$60.8 million a year ago. Revenue for FY2021 also jumped 9.1 per cent from S$3.2 billion to S$3.5 billion.

The mainboard-listed company has proposed a dividend of 2.1 cents per share.

Revenue growth for FY2021 was driven by underlying business as well as favourable foreign currency translation of S$80.2 million from stronger Australian dollar, Sterling pound and Chinese renminbi. ComfortDelgro's FY2021 operating profits rose 72.6 per cent to S$210 million from S$79.5 million a year prior, driving earnings growth.

"As a transport operator, we have certainly benefitted from the increases in economic activity but we are not out of the woods yet. Demand has not reached pre-Covid levels as many workers continue to work from home and social restrictions remain in force in many geographies. But we remain hopeful that global recovery will continue," said Yang Ban Seng, chief executive officer, ComfortDelgro.

The transport operator expects revenue from public transport services to improve as economies relax Covid-19 restrictions. Singapore taxi revenues are also expected to improve with lower Covid-19 rental discounts while China taxi revenues are expected to remain stable.

"In the meantime, we will continue to reinvent ourselves by further embracing technology, investing in human capital and rolling out new and innovative service offerings. Our digitalisation, electrification and sustainability efforts have intensified over the year and will continue to gain momentum going forward." said Yang.