Jardine C&C underlying earnings fall by 20.7% in Q3
Singapore
REGIONAL auto dealer Jardine Cycle & Carriage (Jardine C&C) saw its third-quarter earnings slip on tough markets in Indonesia and Vietnam, according to results out on Wednesday.
Underlying net profit, which excludes non-trading items like investments, came in at US$206.7 million for the three months to Sept 30, down by 20.7 per cent year on year.
Meanwhile, revenue dipped by 1 per cent to US$4.75 billion, with the company noting "challenging conditions faced by Astra and Truong Hai Auto Corporation" in its statement. Underlying earnings per share fell to 52 US cents, from 66 US cents before.
But Jardine C&C's overall net profit, including unrealised fair-value investment gains, rose to US$301.4 million, up by 50.3 per cent from US$200.5 million before. This brought overall earnings per share to 76 US cents, from 51 US cents before.
The company noted in its financial statements for the nine months that Truong Hai Auto Corp's vehicle sales have taken a double-digit decline from "intense competition" involving imports, after an Asean trade deal eliminated tariffs last year.
At key Indonesian subsidiary Astra, contributions slid as the automotive segment was hit by lower car sales, higher manufacturing costs, and currency translation losses, while agri-business income fell on lower average crude palm oil prices.
For the nine months, underlying net profit came in at US$614 million, down by 9 per cent on the same period the year before. Overall net profit nearly doubled to US$728.9 million, from US$373.5 million, while the revenue for the nine months dipped by 1 per cent to US$13.91 billion.
Chairman Ben Keswick said in a statement that the Astra unit is expected to remain affected by soft domestic consumption and low commodity prices this year, but could see the contributions from financial services and gold mining improve.
Meanwhile, Jardine C&C's direct motor interests - which include Truong Hai Auto Corp and Cycle & Carriage Singapore - are also expected to continue facing challenging market conditions, he added. Contributions from other strategic interests - Siam City Cement, Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp and Vinamilk - are expected to be stable.
The board did not recommend a dividend for the third quarter, unchanged from the year before.
The company usually makes payouts on a twice-yearly basis.
Jardine C&C, which is 75 per cent held by the Jardines conglomerate's Jardine Matheson unit, closed up by S$0.28 or 0.85 per cent at S$33.35 before the results were released.
