JARDINE Cycle & Carriage posted an underlying profit of US$500 million for the first half of 2024, down 14 per cent from US$583 million in the year-ago period.
The group’s businesses in Indonesia and Vietnam experienced softer consumer demand and lower commodity prices compared to before. “Weaker domestic currencies in these countries also had an impact on the overall profit contribution,” the group said on Thursday (Aug 1).
Revenue fell 8 per cent to US$10.7 billion, from US$11.6 billion in the year-ago period.
Underlying earnings per share stood at US$1.27, down 14 per cent from US$1.48.
The group uses underlying profit, as opposed to net profit, in its internal financial reporting to distinguish between ongoing business performance and non-trading items.
Its management considers the metric “a key performance measurement that enhances the understanding of the group’s underlying business performances”.
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That said, Jardine Cycle & Carriage’s net profit for H1 2024 was US$483 million, down 25 per cent from H1 2023’s US$648 million.
Corporate costs totalled US$68 million, compared to US$41 million in the same period last year, the group said. This increase was mainly due to higher foreign exchange losses due to foreign currency loans.
The group’s Indonesian businesses contributed US$513 million to its underlying profit, down 9 per cent from the corresponding period last year.
The bulk of this came from conglomerate Astra, which contributed US$497 million to the group’s underlying profit, 8 per cent down from the year-ago period, largely due to weaker performances from its heavy equipment and mining operations.
Jardine Cycle & Carriage’s businesses in Vietnam contributed US$30 million to the group’s underlying profit, down 12 per cent from the year-ago period.
Contributions from the group’s regional interests, which include automotive dealer Cycle & Carriage, stood at US$25 million, down 13 per cent from the corresponding year-ago period.
In Singapore, new car sales were 16 per cent higher at 3,174 units.
However, higher leasing expenses dented profits, and there was also lower profit contribution from Republic Auto’s used car operations due to a 40 per cent reduction in shareholding since October 2023, Jardine Cycle & Carriage said.
It added: “We expect the performance of our market-leading businesses to be resilient for the rest of the year, and we remain confident that our portfolio can deliver sustainable long-term growth.”
Jardine Cycle & Carriage declared an interim dividend of US$0.28 per share, unchanged from the previous period.
Shares of Jardine Cycle & Carriage fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.08 to S$25.88 on Thursday, before the announcement.
