The negative foreign currency translation effect of S$18.2 million hurt transport group ComfortDelGro Corporation's second quarter revenue and net profit.
According to the group, its revenue fell 3.4 percent to $987.2 million. with net profit slipping 6.8 percent to S$79.4 million.
This came with the contraction in the group's operation costs by 2.7 percent to $875.3 million and a 9 percent drop in operating profit to S$111.9 million.
ComfortDelGro stated that a reduction in finance costs and taxation, as well as an increase in profit contribution from its 49 percent stake in ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia, helped buoy the overall bottom line.
Its Managing Director and CEO Yang Ban Seng said the group continues to face intense competition, particularly in the taxi segment, both in Singapore and overseas.
"The rapid growth of the private hire industry, fuelled by incentives and subsided fares, is something we continue to watch closely. We will intensify efforts and initiatives to retain our drivers and to search for new markets for more jobs for them. We are committed to remaining a dominant mobility service provider in the industry and will continue to seek growth overseas," Yang noted in a statement.
For the past quarter, revenue for its taxi business registered a 10.7 percent decline to S$303.9 million.
It was the same story for its inspection and testing services, whose revenue fell by 4.8 percent to S$25.6 million.
On the other hand, the group saw a silver lining with its public transport services, which registered a small uptick at 1.3 percent to S$586.3 million.
Looking ahead, the group expects to record higher revenues for its bus segment in Singapore this year, given the contribution of the Bus Contracting Model.
ComfortDelGro also expects rail services to reflect higher yields with the increase in ridership brought about by the 4.2 percent fare reduction.
Its revenues from the Australia Bus business is inch higher whilst revenue from the UK Bus business is seen to remain dismal.
