But full-year underlying profit was down 5% due to foreign exchange differences

 

JARDINE Cycle & Carriage : C07 +0.23% (C& C) posted a 4.4 per cent rise in its underlying profit of US$602 million for the six months ended December 31, 2024. This came as revenue for the period rose 9 per cent to US$11.6 billion

 

However, its full-year underlying profit was down 5 per cent to US$1.1 billion due to foreign exchange differences, the company said in its earnings statement on Thursday (Feb 27).

 

The company&rsquo s revenue for the full year was flat at US$22.3 billion. But its corporate costs had increased to US$83 million, from US$52 million previously, largely due to the translation of foreign currency loans. There was a &ldquo swing&rdquo from a forex gain of US$22 million to a loss of US$17 million this year, the company noted.

 

Excluding the foreign translation impact, its underlying profit would have risen 3 per cent instead.

 

Jardine C& C&rsquo s board proposed a final dividend of 84 US cents per share, down from last year&rsquo s final dividend of 90 US cents per share. The latest dividend will be paid on Jun 13.

 

After accounting for non-trading items, the company&rsquo s FY2024 net profit stood at US$946 million, 22 per cent lower than the previous year.

 

The non-trading items comprised a US$127 million loss from the stake disposal of Siam City Cement and unrealised fair value losses of US$28 million related to non-current investments.

 

Going by segment, the Indonesian business&rsquo contribution to underlying profit fell 3 per cent to US$1 billion. In particular, contributions from Astra were hit by a weaker Indonesian rupiah.

 

&ldquo On a rupiah basis, however, Astra has delivered another year of record earnings, mainly due to higher earnings from its motorcycle sales, financial services, and infrastructure and logistics businesses,&rdquo Jardine C& C said in its earnings statement.

 

The company&rsquo s Vietnam business contributed US$103 million to its underlying profit, unchanged from the previous year. Contributions from automobile player Thaco were up 10 per cent to US$39 million.

 

Thaco&rsquo s automotive profit benefited from registration tax incentives in the second half of 2024, with unit sales 10 per cent higher, the company noted.

 

Separately, Jardine C& C&rsquo s Regional Interests &ndash which includes Cycle & Carriage and Toyota Motor &ndash contributed US$55 million in underlying profit, up 9 per cent from 2023. Contributions from Cycle & Carriage rose 13 per cent to US$32 million, with increases in both new and used car sales in Singapore.

 

Jardine C& C delivered &ldquo resilient&rdquo performance despite challenging market conditions, said the company&rsquo s chairman John Witt in its earnings statement on Thursday (Feb 27).

 

&ldquo Looking ahead, we are confident the core businesses in our portfolio are well-positioned to benefit from strong mid and long-term prospects in their respective markets, as consumer sentiment recovers,&rdquo he said.

Net profit stands at US$483 million, down 25 per cent from H1 2023&rsquo s US$648 million 

 

JARDINE Cycle & Carriage : C07 -0.31% 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&rsquo s businesses in Indonesia and Vietnam experienced softer consumer demand and lower commodity prices compared to before. &ldquo Weaker domestic currencies in these countries also had an impact on the overall profit contribution,&rdquo 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 &ldquo a key performance measurement that enhances the understanding of the group&rsquo s underlying business performances&rdquo .

 

That said, Jardine Cycle & Carriage&rsquo s net profit for H1 2024 was US$483 million, down 25 per cent from H1 2023&rsquo 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&rsquo 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&rsquo 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&rsquo s businesses in Vietnam contributed US$30 million to the group&rsquo s underlying profit, down 12 per cent from the year-ago period. 

 

Contributions from the group&rsquo 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&rsquo s used car operations due to a 40 per cent reduction in shareholding since October 2023, Jardine Cycle & Carriage said.

 

It added: &ldquo 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.&rdquo

 

Jardine Cycle & Carriage declared an interim dividend of US$0.28, unchanged from the previous period.