SINGAPORE (Feb 27): Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C), a Jardine Matheson company, announced that its FY2019 earnings have more than doubled (by 111%) to US$881.4 million ($1.2 billion).
However, revenue for the full year ended December came in 2% lower at US$18.6 billion from US$19.0 billion a year ago. Since net operating costs saw a larger decline of 5% y-o-y to US$16.4 billion, operating profit for FY19 came in 27% higher at US$2.2 billion from US$1.7 billion last year.
Net financing charges increased by 60% y-o-y to US$269.7 million from US$168.3 million.
As at end December, JC&C’s cash and cash equivalents stood at US$1.8 billion.
JC&C’s board is recommending a final dividend of 69 US cents per share, which together with the interim dividend, will produce a total dividend of 87 US cents per share for FY19, unchanged from FY18.
Commenting on its FY19 results, JC&C’s chairman Ben Keswick says, “Jardine Cycle & Carriage delivered a stable performance in 2019. Astra saw strong contributions from financial services and the new gold mining operations, but its automotive, heavy equipment, and agribusiness results were impacted by relatively weaker domestic consumption and lower commodity prices."
"Truong Hai Auto Corporation saw lower performance from its automotive business as a result of increased competition. There was a higher contribution from Siam City Cement and the group received an increased dividend from its investment in Vinamilk," Keswick adds.
On the outlook for 2020, the group expects market conditions in Indonesia to remain challenging and conditions generally in Southeast Asia to be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Shares in JC&C closed at $28.22 on Thursday.
