Comfort Delgro

[Contrarian]

> Maybe Mr. Lim quietly asked LTA to food the bill for the upgrade??

Some RC members asked this at a session chaired by Goh Chok Tong. He admitted that "we are trying to work out the cost sharing formulae". In other words, some parts will need to be paid by public.

There is no technical reason. Hong Kong MRT runs much earlier than Singapore, their train arrival interval is 1-2 mins. The train fares went up ONCE in 13-14 years. The train operator owns the land around the MRT and use revenues to improve train operations.

So HK govt policy objective is for social reasons and improve train efficiency. Singapore's method is P&L driven more important, pay and pay.

[nitro]

Just curious

-why did CDG dispose its 51% stake in Sichuan ComfortDelGro Car Servicing for Rmb10.5m?
- did CDG overpay for the Swan Taxis at A$38.8m?

[Nick]

COMFORTDELGRO EXPANDS TAXI PRESENCE IN CHINA WITH 800 NEW LICENCES

http://info.sgx.com/webcoranncatth.nsf/V...20029A685/$file/chengdutaxis.pdf?openelement

Another step forward towards realizing its goals of deriving 70% of its revenue from its overseas business !

[mikh]

I read the investment to mean they can compete well at Chengdu, part of cut-throat China. As taxi biz is more profitable than bus for CDG, this is good as well. Total taxi operating profits should soon be exceeding bus ops, if not already.

I think the key for CDG is how they are able to compete better as a larger transport player with advantages in size and experience. Is the group able to draw synergies of skill and scale from its multi-country operations, or leverage from its years in Sg. That will affect the size of the moat.

In Sg, SMRT makes good money from station space rentals and advertisements. I wonder that CDG/SBST should perhaps be doing better with their bus stations. I don't see revenue from there at the moment.

[yaosheng]

Comfort is still sensitive to energy prices, with the bullish outlook for oil prices, perhaps there is reason the stock is trading at the lower of its PE range

[mikh]

Should be that some 50% of its profit is directly affected by energy prices. It will be a matter of whether it is able to pass on the costs. The taxi business is indirectly affected depending on how commuters view that mode of transport vis-a-vis alternatives. The company's objective would probably be to try and move into an energy price neutral position.

I believe the stock went down with the increase of oil prices circa 2007 and stayed there with the last crisis, no matter that oil prices went down later. It was and still is affected by the weaker foreign currencies compared to SGD. For the last 2 years, its dividends had not been as good as well.

So, looks like still waiting for catalyst/s.

[Musicwhiz]

*For the full article, please visit the website.

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Aug 14, 2012
ComfortDelGro posts 7.7% rise in first-half earnings
Overseas ventures, S'pore businesses fuel growth despite cost pressures

By Christopher Tan Senior Correspondent

TRANSPORT giant ComfortDelGro Corp shrugged off a lacklustre performance by its Singapore bus unit to post a 7.7 per cent rise in half-year earnings.

Net profit for the six months to June 30 came in at $118.5 million on the back of a 5.7 per cent growth in revenue to $1.74 billion.

The growth was fuelled by robust overseas ventures, as well as better showings by a number of Singapore-based businesses.

The biggest increase was posted by automotive engineering services, with a 77.7 per cent rise in operating profit to $24.7 million. Its activities include vehicle repair and maintenance and diesel sales to cabbies in Singapore.

Rail suffered the biggest contraction with a 44.1 per cent drop in operating profit to $8.5 million, on the back of higher manpower and electricity costs.

Taxis remained ComfortDelGro's biggest earner. Its operating profit for the six months rose by 3.6 per cent to $68.8 million.

The bus business was a close second, up 3.1 per cent to $67.2 million despite an $8.5 million loss incurred by the local arm.

The group's bus ventures in Australia and China posted higher earnings, despite the Chinese unit having divested Shenyang ComfortDelGro Bus in May.

Its British bus business posted lower earnings because of higher staff costs and start-up expenses of new services run by Scottish Citylink, a coach operator in Scotland.

Earnings per share rose from 5.26 to 5.67 cents, while net asset value per share stood at 92.33 cents as at June 30, versus 90.46 on Dec 31 last year.

Chief executive Kua Hong Pak noted that the group had continued to increase revenue and profit "despite the impact of cost pressures, particularly in the Singapore bus and rail businesses".

"We will continue to work hard at growing our topline while staying vigilant on costs," he said.

Observers said the outlook for the diversified transport operator in this six-month period looks decidedly challenging.

Its Singapore business is likely to continue to face a squeeze on margins even as revenue rises from ridership growth. Cost increases will come from the Downtown Line Stage 1 next year, additional buses and wages.
--------------------

[Ben]

CD claims to be the world's second largest transport company, any one knows who is the largest? I tried google but no result.

[Ben]

Not sure what causes the fall in price these two days....oil price is stable le....my itch fingers trigger a buy today...not sure why I do that...haha.

[pianist]

AFP
Wednesday, Dec 05, 2012

HONG KONG - Air pollution in Asia, which already kills at least 800,000 people each year, will likely lead to even higher death rates as the region’s air quality worsens, an environmental group warned Wednesday.

Energy consumption and rising vehicle emissions amid Asia’s rapid economic growth are the main driving force behind the region’s increasingly acute air pollution, according to air quality group Clean Air Asia.

“What we are worrying is that we are seeing the PM10 concentration (level) is on the rise again,” the group’s executive director Sophie Punte told a regional conference on air pollution in Hong Kong.

“Seven out of 10 cities in developing Asia are breathing air that is harmful to their health,” she told 600 environmentalists and government officials gathered at the “Better Air Quality” conference organised by the group.

PM10 are air particles that are 10 micrometres, or 10 millionths of a metre (0.0004 of an inch), across.

The group says air pollution will rise as the number of vehicles in Asia is expected to exceed one billion by 2035, while its fuel consumption and resulting carbon dioxide emissions will grow by 400 percent compared to its 2005 levels.

A World Health Organization study in 2008 found 800,000 out of 1.3 million premature deaths each year due to air pollution are in Asia, and experts warn the figure could rise if no urgent action is taken.

“Our concern is that as pollution begins to rise, the toll – which is already significant – will start to escalate again,” US-based Health Effects Institute vice chairman Robert O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe, who is also Clean Air Asia’s trustees board chairman, said research had shown the deaths attributed to air pollution could double by 2050 if “business is as usual”.

Asian countries like China – which suffers from industrial pollution, increasing traffic and lax protection measures – has come under pressure in recent years to tighten its air quality standards.

In Hong Kong, where its famed skyline is often covered in smog, the government has vowed to cut emissions from power plants and phase out polluting diesel vehicles as part of an ongoing effort to tackle air pollution.