Jardine C&C bares lower performance ahead of earnings report

The investment arm of Jardine Matheson is struggling to recover from the pandemic.

Ahead of its official financial disclosure, Jardine Cycle and Carriage (JC&C) announced that the first quarter had been "challenging."

"The Group continued to operate in challenging conditions for the first three months of 2021 due to the ongoing impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the Group’s operations, particularly those in Indonesia, saw lower performance compared to the same period last year," the company said in a bourse disclosure.

It has a 50.1% stake in Astra, an Indonesian company and one of the largest independent automotive grousps in the Southeast Asian region.

However Astra has reported a 22% decrease in earnings for the first quarter, as Indonesia continues to be one of the countries hardest-hit by COVID-19.

Cycle & Carriage Singapore had posted improved margines, driven by its used car segment. Cycle & Carriage Bintang in Malaysia benefited from government initiatives. Tunas Ridean in Indonesia had lower contributions across operations.

JC&C also cited translation losses of its foreign currency loans as a reason for its lower performance.

"JC&C’s overall performance has gradually improved in recent quarters. However, the Group expects that the pandemic and related containment measures will continue to affect its performance for some time," it said.