ComfortDelGro H2 earnings up 63.3% to S$57.8 million, proposes special dividend
Uma Devi
TRANSPORT operator ComfortDelGro on Friday (Feb 24) posted earnings of S$57.8 million for the second half of the year ended Dec 31, 2022, up 63.3 per cent from net profit of S$35.4 million for the same period in 2021.
This took the group’s full-year earnings to S$173.1 million, up 40.7 per cent from S$123 million.
Revenue for the period under review was up 9 per cent to S$1.9 billion from S$1.8 billion. Topline from ComfortDelGro’s underlying businesses was partially offset by an “unfavourable” foreign currency translation of S$76 million from the weaker Australian dollar and the Sterling.
The board of directors at ComfortDelGro has recommended a final dividend of S$0.0176 per share, and a special dividend of S$0.0246 per ordinary share to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the company’s listing on the Singapore Exchange.
With this, ComfortDelGro’s total dividend payout for 2022 stands at S$0.0848 per share, versus S$0.042 per share in 2021.
For H2, ComfortDelGro’s revenue for the public transport services segment rose 8 per cent to S$1.5 billion due to improved rail ridership and fuel indexation.
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Revenue from the taxi business was up 13.1 per cent to S$226.5 million, due primarily to lower rental discounts and the introduction of taxi fare commission from May last year in Singapore. These were, however, partially offset by the likes of Covid-19 lockdown impacts on the taxi business in China.
In a results briefing on Friday, ComfortDelGro executives said they are looking at the group’s taxi business to be a key driver of growth in terms of revenue and profitability in the current year.
Chief executive Cheng Siak Kian said the company’s taxi businesses in Singapore and China will benefit from the economic reopening. Despite a rough year in China in 2022, Cheng said the taxi business there is gaining steam as the country reopens its doors and eases pandemic-related restrictions.
Prior to the pandemic, ComfortDelGro had about 10,000 to 11,000 cars in its taxi segment. Now, the figure stands at about 8,500 to 8,600 cars.
The company has been trying to get riders back on board through better contracts and shorter training times.
For the public transport sector, Cheng said cost management will be key for the group as labour and fuel costs continue to rise. Although ridership for this segment in Singapore is still lower than pre-Covid levels, ComfortDelGro has noticed a pick-up in figures.
Cheng also stressed that ComfortDelGro will be actively looking at contracts in the next few years, particularly rail contracts in Singapore and overseas.
As of now, the company is looking at contracts in Australia, Paris, as well as Scandinavian countries, he said.
The group said public transport services could hit some stumbles in the current year.
For instance, the company’s public transport services segment in Singapore will be affected from this year due to an amendment to the service fee payable by the Land Transport Authority on five public bus contracts which took effect on Sep 1 last year.
Over in the UK, public transport services will also be impacted by a recently agreed-upon pay increase of 11 per cent for drivers.
“We anticipate contracts to be tendered for at significantly higher service fees to cater for cost increases,” said ComfortDelGro.
Shares of ComfortDelGro closed at S$1.20 on Friday, up 0.8 per cent or S$0.01.
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