ComfortDelGro has reported a patmi of $70.4 million for the 3QFY2025 ended Sept 30, 22.4% higher y-o-y.
Revenue rose by 12.9% y-o-y to $1.3 billion as revenues rose largely across the board. Patmi margin increased to 5.3% from 4.9% in the same quarter the year before.
According to the group, the higher bottomline was driven by its UK public transport arm, as its Metroline London bus contract margins continued to improve. The increase in patmi was also attributed to the acquisition of London black taxi provider, Addison Lee, in November 2024, as well as the net gain on disposal from the sale of its depots in Victoria. The sale was part of the terms of the new 10-year zero emission bus franchise contracts and proceeds were redeployed to acquire the incumbent operator to service the increased network as part of the contracts.
In 3QFY2025, overseas revenue contribution increased to 57.1% from 51.1% last year mainly due to the Addison Lee acquisition and Metroline Manchester contracts, which commenced in 1Q2025. This was offset by lower revenues in Singapore, Australia, China and Malaysia. In Singapore, revenues fell due to a smaller taxi and private-hire vehicle (PHV) fleet as well as the loss of the Jurong West bus package, which was handed over to the new operator since September 2024.
For the 9MFY2025, total revenue increased by 13.9% y-o-y to $3.8 billion.
Patmi was up by 15.4% y-o-y to $176.4 million, while patmi margin inched up to 4.7% from 4.6% last year.
For the three months, the group spent $180.3 million in capex, up from $83 million in the same period last year, as it funded electric vehicle (EV) buses in London, conducted fleet refurbishment and replacements, as well as purchased bus accessories for transport authorities which are funded by contracts.
Capex was also spent on 38 EV taxis in China, new and replacement vehicles for its driving school in Singapore, non-emergency ambulances in Australia and rental vehicles in Singapore and Malaysia. In addition, capex went to property developments in Singapore, depot development and electrification in the UK and Australia. Others include equipment and information/operational technology.
The group spent $702.6 million in capex year to date, up from $296 million in the year before.
See also: AEM Holdings reverses into earnings of $4.02 mil for 9MFY2025
As at Sept 30, cash and cash equivalents stood at $870.8 million.
Among its key business updates, CDG highlighted that the fleet size contraction in Singapore eased, while its trip numbers in the country improved on a q-o-q basis. Its private hire car segment in Singapore also showed “steady improvements” in driver and trip numbers.
"The 3QFY2025 earnings reflect the resilience of our operations," says Cheng Siak Kian, managing director and group CEO of ComfortDelGro. "Facing an increasingly competitive landscape, we are actively building upon our core strengths in both public transport and point-to-point mobility, leveraging group capabilities and building centres of excellence for future growth."
Shares in ComfortDelGro closed 1 cent higher or 0.68% up at $1.48 on Nov 12.
