Jardine Matheson climbs out of the red to post FY21 net profit of US$1.9b

JARDINE Matheson Holdings (JMH) on Thursday reported a net profit of US$1.9 billion for the full year ended Dec 31, reversing from a loss of US$394 million a year ago.

The group recorded a narrower decrease in fair value of investment properties, and an increase in fair value of investment properties from its share of the results of associates and joint ventures.

Underlying profit, which excludes non-trading items, increased 39 per cent to US$1.5 billion.

The group recorded earnings per share of US$6.01 for FY2021, compared with a loss per share of US$1.07 the year before.

The board has proposed a final dividend of US$1.56 per share, higher than the US$1.28 a year ago. This brings the total dividends per share in 2021 to US$2, up from US$1.72 the year before. The final dividend will be paid on May 11.

JMH said its better showing was driven by a stronger contribution from Astra, which is in businesses such as distributing cars, coal mining and operating oil palm plantations; JMH's turnaround also comes from better results from South-east Asian businesses held by Jardine Cycle & Carriage, and improved contributions from the group's motors business, which saw a higher contribution from the interest in Zhongsheng.

The counter ended at US$59.12 on Thursday, down 1.43 per cent or US$0.86.