ComfortDelGro Q1 revenue up 3.9%; Singapore public transport ridership ‘slowly improving’

TRANSPORT heavyweight ComfortDelGro Corp reported a 3.9 per cent uptick in revenue to S$895.9 million for the first quarter ended Mar 31, 2022, compared with S$862.1 million in the corresponding period last year.

Overseas revenue contribution – from the UK and Ireland, Australia, China, Vietnam and Malaysia – made up about 43.2 per cent of the top line, down a tad from 45.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, the mainboard-listed group said in a quarterly business update on Friday (May 13) evening.

By segment, public transportation services accounted for about 79.5 per cent or S$712 million of total revenue in the latest quarter. That is more than the 77.9 per cent or S$671.4 million a year ago.

ComfortDelGro : C52 0% noted that ridership for public transport in Singapore is “slowly improving”, with rail ridership reaching about 65-70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels as at the end of March this year.

It posted a net gain on disposal of S$37.9 million for the first quarter this year, mostly from selling the Alperton bus garage in London for S$37.2 million. The sale of the Alperton property by ComfortDelGro’s UK subsidiary, Metroline West, was first proposed in October 2019. The transaction was completed in January 2022.

Meanwhile, taxi revenue fell 11.2 per cent year on year to S$106.3 million for the first quarter this year. This came amid a smaller fleet size, continued Covid-19 rental discounts and one-off fuel rebates given to drivers in Singapore. In China, rental waivers were granted due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, while the UK saw lower revenues after the divestment of the London taxi business in June 2021.

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The group’s profit after taxation and minority interests (Patmi) increased 30.4 per cent to S$76.7 million, from S$58.8 million in the year-ago period.

Operating profit excluding non-recurring items and Covid-19 government relief stood at S$64.4 million, up 25.7 per cent on the year.

ComfortDelGro’s net cash position was S$614.5 million as at Mar 31, 2022, up from S$519.8 million at the end of 2021. This came as cash and short-term deposits increased from operating cash flows.

Shares of ComfortDelGro rose S$0.02 or 1.4 per cent to finish at S$1.41 on Friday, before the business update was announced.