Jardine C&C's performance 'significantly impacted' from Covid-19 in Q1

JARDINE Cycle & Carriage (JC&C) said on Monday after trading hours that the group experienced "challenging trading conditions" in the first quarter as conditions began to deteriorate across its market due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

In its interim management statement for the first quarter of 2020, the group said that the impact of the pandemic and the measures to contain it  "increased significantly" in April, with lockdowns and social-distancing measures resulting in temporary closures across many of the group's businesses.

"Both business and consumer sentiment are expected to remain weak for some time and the group's performance in the current period will be significantly impacted," said the company.

At Indonesian conglomerate Astra, a key Jardine C&C subsidiary, overall performance declined in the first quarter of the year, largely due to lower coal prices and weakening consumer confidence.

Astra Group's consolidated net revenue for the first quarter of 2020 was 54 trillion rupiah (S$5.06 billion), a decrease of 9 per cent from last year. Its net income was down 8 per cent to 4.8 trillion rupiah.

This comes despite solid performances in its automotive and financial-services businesses, and a higher contribution from the group's agribusiness.

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As the impact of Covid-19 has grown more severe and anti-pandemic measures have taken effect, the group has faced increasingly difficult conditions and its April performance has been adversely impacted, said JC&C. These conditions are likely to persist for some time.

In Singapore, Cycle & Carriage experienced lower sales due to a reduction in market size and weak consumer sentiment. Sales of Cycle & Carriage Bintang in Malaysia were similarly affected.

Indonesian auto dealership Tunas Ridean also faced challenging conditions, with lower profits across all its operations.

In Vietnam, auto maker and distributor Thaco's automotive unit sales and margins, particularly in the passenger-car segment, declined due to a fall in market volume as both business and consumer sentiment deteriorated in an already challenging and competitive market.

Siam City Cement's operations in Thailand and Vietnam were impacted by overall economic conditions in the first quarter and are also now further affected by Covid-19-related impacts. JC&C's other strategic interest Vinamilk's operations are said to be stable, with only moderate impact from the crisis so far.

The group's results were also impacted by translation losses on its foreign currency loans.

The group said that in each of its businesses, debt levels and liquidity positions are being "carefully monitored and steps are being taken to mitigate both operational and financial risks".

"A range of actions are also being taken to manage costs and preserve cash, including reducing capital expenditure and managing working capital," said the statement.

JC&C rose 15 Singapore cents to close at S$21.03 at the end of trading on Monday.