SBS Transit H1 profit down 0.3% on increased energy costs; special dividend of 15.97 cents declared

[SINGAPORE] SBS Transit posted a 0.3 per cent year-on-year dip in net profit to S$34 million for the six months ended Jun 30.

Earnings declined on higher energy and staffing costs, even as revenue was up 5.3 per cent to S$785.6 million in the same time frame.

In a bourse filing on Thursday (Aug 13), the mainboard-listed transport provider said that group operating costs were up 5.6 per cent to S$751.6 million for the half.

Fuel and electricity costs rose 36.5 per cent to S$138 million, while premises costs, depreciation expense and other operating costs all went down.

The group, which is majority owned by ComfortDelGro , declared a special dividend of 15.97 Singapore cents per ordinary share, in addition to a tax-exempt, one-tier interim dividend of 8.45 cents per ordinary share.

The total dividend for the half is 24.42 cents a share, translating to a payout ratio of 260 per cent.

Ridership, fares up

The increase in revenue was driven by increased takings from its public transport business. Revenue from that segment was up 5.8 per cent to S$757.2 million for the half.

The group reported increased ridership on its MRT lines: 1.5 per cent for the North-East Line and 1 per cent on the Downtown Line.

Its commercial services segment posted a 6.2 per cent dip in revenue to S$28.4 million due to lower advertising revenue, although operating profit was up 8.1 per cent at S$10.7 million on lower depreciation, staff costs and advertising expenses.

SEE ALSO

In the AI age, we must all be fact-checkers

This Singapore startup wants to solve airplane baggage ‘Tetris’ with a snake-like, AI-powered system

BYD corners a quarter of Singapore market as EV adoption reaches 62.4%

Car dealer charged in S$1.1 million tax evasion case involving Porsches, Ferraris, Rolls-Royces

Motorway group boss Michael Lim charged with evasion of excise duty and GST

Orchard Boulevard, Marina Gardens Lane GLS sites released for sale

Grab to roll out on-demand autonomous vehicle rides in Punggol ahead of Q4 commercial launch

More

In its outlook, SBS Transit expects bus operations revenue to drop with the Tampines Bus Package having expired from July 2026; the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package expires from June 2027, but will be partly mitigated by growth in rail revenue from ridership and fare increases.

SBS Transit Group CEO Jeffrey Sim said the group is “disappointed to lose the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package in the recent tender”, but noted that it remains Singapore’s largest bus operator and it has the most reliable rail network in the Republic.

It cautioned that a tight labour market, elevated energy prices and inflation will continue to be challenges, and that it will maintain a cautious outlook for the rest of the year.

Shares of SBS Transit closed trading down 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 to S$3.62.