LAND transport conglomerate ComfortDelGro : C52 0% on Tuesday (May 14) posted a 23.8 per cent rise in year-on-year net profit to S$40.6 million in Q1 ended Mar 31, 2024, from S$32.8 million a year earlier. 

Revenue rose 10.8 per cent to S$1 billion, from S$906.4 million over the same period. 

The company attributed this to higher revenue generated from its public transport, taxi and private-hire vehicles, as well as other private transport segments. 

Meanwhile, it attributed its increased profit to lower rental discounts in Singapore and China. It also noted that its profit margin for the quarter rose to 4 per cent, from 3.6 per cent a year ago. 

The company also began charging platform fees for Singapore taxis that were introduced in Jul 1, 2023, as well as higher taxi commission rates and fares from December 2023.

The stronger results came despite public transport contract renewals in Australia coming in at lower margins, as well as lower taxi and private-hire booking volumes of about seven million, compared to about eight million a year earlier. It also saw net interest income rise to S$7.6 million due to additional dividends from Australian taxi network operator A2B Australia, from S$4 million a year earlier.

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The company announced in December last year that it would acquire all shares that it does not own in A2B Australia for A$165.1 million (S$145.7 million). A2B Australia shareholders voted in favour of the deal on Mar 25.

Still, ComfortDelGro’s net cash position as at Mar 31, 2024, fell to S$437.4 million, from S$497.5 million in December 2023. 

It attributed this to an increase in borrowings and a reduction of available facilities due to the acquisition of UK-based transport-management specialist CMAC Group, which concluded in February 2024. 

In the first quarter of this year, the company noted that it has received four bus franchises in Greater Manchester that comprise 232 different services served by 420 buses and over 1,350 employees. 

The expansion will add to a 30 per cent increase in the company’s public bus portfolio in London. 

Shares of ComfortDelGro fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to S$1.44 on Tuesday, before its financial results were released.