Jardine Matheson raises dividend guidance after "robust" earnings
Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd on Thursday said it will raise its dividend following a strong first half.
The Hong Kong-based holding company, which has interests in retail, property, hotels and motor dealerships, reported revenue of USD15.92 billion for the six months ended June 30, down 7% from USD17.08 billion the year before. Capital invested across the group increased 47% to USD1.67 billion from USD1.14 billion.
Attributable net profit increased 3% to USD542 million from USD528 million. Pretax profit increased to USD1.88 billion from USD1.76 billion.
Jardine Matheson declared an interim dividend of 65 US cents per share, up 8% from 60 cents.
Looking ahead, the company upgraded its full-year dividend guidance to USD2.47 per share or more, up from USD2.35 for 2025. Its earnings guidance for 2026 is unchanged.
Jardine had previously forecast a full-year dividend of at least USD2.45 per share, and profit in line with that of 2025. For that year, it reported net profit of USD1.11 billion and pretax profit of USD4.20 billion.
"Jardines is delivering against the strategic goals set out at its recent Investor Day," commented Chief Executive Officer Lincoln Pan. "Underlying earnings and free cash flow remain robust and our strong execution of recycling initiatives across the portfolio positions Jardines well for further investment activities in the next 12 months.
"Our focus as we enter H2 is to continue driving TSR, improving cash flow across our portfolio, portfolio simplification and importantly, integrating I-MED Radiology Network into our portfolio."
The firm's subsidiary, Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd, reported an 8% decrease in first-half revenue to USD9.99 billion from USD10.80 billion the year before.
Underlying attributable profit fell 11% to USD473 million, which CEO Freddy Lee said was "primarily due to lower business contributions from portfolio companies, reduced dividend income and the absence of non-recurring foreign exchange gains recognised in the prior year period," and attributable profit decreased 2% to USD363 million.
JC&C declared an unchanged interim dividend of 28 cents per share, and proposes a special dividend of around 73 cents, comprising a cash distribution and a distribution-in-specie of remaining shares in Toyota Motor Corp.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on supporting our portfolio companies to improve investment and financial performance, while evaluating opportunities to deliver value from our portfolio in a manner consistent with our strategic objectives," Lee commented.
Another subsidiary, PT Astra International Tbk, reported net revenue of IDR157.91 billion, or £6.56 billion, down 3% from IDR162.86 billion.
Net income fell 19% to IDR12.53 billion from IDR15.52 billion.
Jardine Matheson shares closed flat at USD58.38 on Thursday in London.
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