ComfortDelGro’s H1 net profit slips 31.9% to S$78.5 million; SBS posts 0.4% gain in H1 net profit

COMFORTDELGRO Corporation (CDG) on Monday (Aug 14) reported a 31.9 per cent fall year on year in net profit  to S$78.5 million for the first half of the year to June 2023 from S$115.3 million, mainly due to higher operating costs and the absence of a one-off disposal gain.

Nonetheless, the transport behemoth has raised its dividend payout ratio to a minimum of 70 per cent from 50 per cent as it wants to reward shareholders “more appropriately with what is going to be the traditional strong cash flow from current businesses”.

The higher operating costs in H1 FY2023 were caused by post-pandemic inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war, but inflationary cost pressures and driver shortages are subsiding, said CDG.