ComfortDelGro Q2 profit rises 6.9%

$80.9 million in earnings amid growth across most business segments; revenue up 2.1% to $1.04 billion

Transport giant ComfortDelGro operates more than 46,500 buses, taxis and rental vehicles in Singapore, China, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia. It saw increased revenues in the second quarter from its taxi businesses in Singapore, Ch
Transport giant ComfortDelGro operates more than 46,500 buses, taxis and rental vehicles in Singapore, China, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia. It saw increased revenues in the second quarter from its taxi businesses in Singapore, China and Vietnam, with a growth of between 4.8 per cent and 17.6 per cent. MYP FILE PHOTO

Transport giant ComfortDelGro posted a 6.9 per cent rise in second-quarter net profit to $80.9 million due to growth across most business segments.

Revenue for the three months ended June 30 increased 2.1 per cent to $1.04 billion.

Its bus, taxi and rail businesses grew by a total of $35.3 million over the same period last year.

However, the firm's automotive engineering services decreased by $13.1 million, bringing overall turnover growth for the quarter to $20.9 million.

Revenue was partially eroded by the weaker Australia dollar and sterling in Britain, said ComfortDelGro in a statement yesterday.

  • AT A GLANCE

  • REVENUE: $1.04 billion (+2.1%)

    NET PROFIT: $80.9 million (+6.9%)

    INTERIM DIVIDEND PER SHARE: Four cents (+6.7%)

ComfortDelGro operates more than 46,500 buses, taxis and rental vehicles in Singapore, China, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Chief executive Kua Hong Pak said the operating environment in these countries stayed challenging, and the company is thankful that it could sustain its profitability.

"We expect competitive pressures to intensify," he said.

The company's overseas operations accounted for 39.5 per cent of revenue in the quarter.

Growth in its bus business for the quarter was mainly due to services provided for the South-east Asian Games in Singapore.

In Singapore, the bus business grew by 15.6 per cent to $221.8 million while operations in Britain and Australia shrank because of the negative currency translation effect.

Revenues from its taxi businesses here, in China and Vietnam grew by between 4.8 per cent and 17.6 per cent. In Singapore, the growth was due to higher rental from new replacement taxis, a larger operating fleet and an increase in cashless transactions.

ComfortDelGro also took in 6.8 per cent more revenue from its rail business, at $52.1 million in the second quarter.

Average daily number of riders for the North-East Line grew 4.9 per cent to about 527,000 in the second quarter, and the Downtown Line added 20.2 per cent more riders to take the figure to 70,000.

The Punggol and Sengkang LRT lines saw an increase of 15.6 per cent to about 97,000 riders.

Earnings per share was 3.77 cents for the quarter, up from 3.55 cents last year. Net asset value per share was $1.0605 as at June 30, up from $1.0236 as at Dec 31.

For the half year, net profit rose 6.8 per cent to $148.5 million as revenue grew 1.7 per cent to $2 billion.

The company declared an interim dividend of four cents per share, up from 3.75 cents a year earlier. ComfortDelGro's share price closed two cents higher at $3.01 yesterday.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 14, 2015, with the headline ComfortDelGro Q2 profit rises 6.9%. Subscribe