JARDINE Cycle and Carriage (Jardine C& C) : C07 +1.89%on Tuesday (Feb 28) announced a net profit of US$252.3 million for the second half of 2022 ended December, down 42 per cent from earnings of US$434.3 million in the same period in 2021.

 

Revenue for the second half of the year was up 18 per cent to US$11.1 billion, due primarily to higher sales in Astra&rsquo s automotive segment, financial services, heavy equipment and mining operations and higher sales in direct motor interests.

 

The board of directors has recommended a final dividend of US$0.83 per share, up from US$0.62 per share in 2021.

 

The dividend, if approved by shareholders at the upcoming annual general meeting, will be paid out on Jun 30. 

 

The latest dividend brings Jardine Cycle and Carriage&rsquo s total payout for 2022 to US$1.11 per share, versus US$0.80 per share in 2021.

 

Things, however, looked more upbeat for the company on a full-year basis.

 

The company&rsquo s full-year profit for 2022 came in at US$739.8 million, up 12 per cent from US$660.6 million in 2021. 

 

The group said underlying profit for the year hit a record high of about US$1.1 billion, 39 per cent higher than 2021. 

 

Astra achieved a record profit as it benefited from Indonesia&rsquo s strong economic recovery and higher commodity prices, while the group&rsquo s non-Astra interests collectively also made a record contribution, mainly due to the strong performance of Truong Hai Group Corporation (Thaco) and Direct Motor Interests. 

 

Astra contributed US$913 million to the Group&rsquo s underlying profit, 39 per cent higher than the previous year, driven primarily by the recovery in the Indonesian economy and higher commodity prices.

 

Meanwhile, Thaco&rsquo s contributions rose 34 per cent to US$83 million due to a strong performance from its automotive business.

 

Looking ahead, Jardine C& C&rsquo s chairman Ben Keswick said the company expects to face challenges from uncertainties around the global economic outlook.

 

The group nonetheless said it is well-positioned to achieve sustainable growth through the opportunities in South-east Asia.

 

Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC& C) has submitted a notice of unconditional voluntary take-over offer to the board of directors of Cycle & Carriage Bintang (CCB) &ndash the group&rsquo s business unit in Malaysia.

 

JC& C currently holds about 89.994% of the issued share capital of CCB, which is currently listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia Securities. CCB&rsquo s principal activities are the retail of vehicles and provision of after-sales services. It is one of the leading Mercedes-Benz dealers in Malaysia with a network of 11 outlets in the country.

 

Under the terms of the offer, JC& C will seek to acquire all the remaining shares of CCB that it does not currently hold at a consideration of RM2.70 per offer share. In the event of the offer being fully accepted, the total consideration for this take over would stand at about RM27.2 million ($8.6 million).

 

The offer is not conditional upon the receipt of any minimum level of valid acceptances.

 

The group will fund this acquisition through internal resources and/or external borrowings.

 

To recap, this is JC& C&rsquo s third attempt to takeover CCB, as it did not manage to acquire all the shares from other existing shareholders. On June 4, 2021, after its second take over attempt, JC& C announced that it only managed to raise its shareholding to 88.04%. It purchased the shares back then at RM2.40 per share.

 

JC& C&rsquo s first attempt to privatise CCB was in November 2019 via a proposed selective capital reduction (SCR) and repayment exercise at RM2.20 per share.

 

At the time, minority shareholders blocked the privatisation with more than 10% of disinterested shareholders including listed company Muar Ban Lee Group Bhd voting against the SCR.