SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Bus operator SBS Transit on Wednesday (Aug 10) announced earnings of $34.6 million for the first half year ended June, down 5 per cent from earnings of $36.5 million in the year-ago period.
The decline was attributed to a jump in tax expense for the period to $8.1 million, from $1.1 million a year ago.
The increase in tax paid was largely due to higher profits in H1, as well as the exemption of tax in the corresponding period last year as a result of the Job Support Scheme.
Group revenue rose 14.3 per cent to $732.4 million, from $640.8 million a year ago.
This was driven by the 14.3 per cent increase in revenue from public transport services to $710.5 million on the back of higher service fees from higher fuel indexation offset by lower mileage, as well as higher rail fare revenue from higher ridership and higher other operating income.
However, group operating costs grew 14.4 per cent to $689.4 million, mainly due to high energy prices resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war, as fuel and electricity costs increased by 78.4 per cent to $120.5 million.
Meanwhile, manpower costs climbed 18.4 per cent to $372.4 million. SBS Transit said this was due to a competitive labour market and the absence of the Job Support Scheme.
Underlying group operating profit rose 12.6 per cent to $43 million, despite operating profit figures for H1 2021 including Covid-19 government reliefs of $34.6 million.
The group has declared an interim dividend of $0.0545 per share for the period, which will be paid on Aug 25. This is lower than the interim dividend of $0.0575 paid out a year ago.
"We are seeing a steady increase in rail ridership as more workers return to the workplace with the gradual easing of Covid-19 measures. However, it's still early days to say if ridership will recover to pre-Covid-19 levels due to hybrid work arrangements and we are closely monitoring the situation," said SBS Transit CEO Cheng Siak Kian.
"Meanwhile, the tight labour market and the spike in energy prices remain as key challenges for our business," he added.
Shares of SBS Transit closed 0.4 per cent or $0.01 higher at $2.84 on Wednesday, before the results announcement.
