Swire Pacific posts record sales and 80 per cent jump in 2018 profit, marking a successful handover of reins to family scion
* Swire Pacific’s 2018 profit was helped by a turnaround in the financial performance of Cathay Pacific Airways and disposals of non-core assets
* Merlin Swire, the sixth-generation descendant of the group’s founder, took over as chairman last July
Sandy Li
Published: 1:14pm, 14 Mar, 2019
Swire Pacific Limited, the publicly listed arm of one of Asia’s largest conglomerates, reported a year of record sales and the highest profit in three years, marking a successful handover of the two century-old company to the founder’s sixth-generation scion.
The company’s underlying profit, excluding revaluation gains on investment properties, soared to HK$8.52 billion last year, beating the HK$6.84 billion consensus in a Bloomberg poll of four analysts, and setting the highest level since 2015. Sales by the company, also one of the world’s biggest bottlers for Coca-Cola, rose 5 per cent to a record HK$84.6 billion (US$10.78 billion).
The group, which traces its history to Hong Kong in 1816, was helped last year by a turnaround in the financial performance of Cathay Pacific Airways, which returned to profitability after two straight years of losses. Swire also made gains from selling non-core assets, including an office building in Kowloon for HK$6.5 billion, and two office towers in Quarry Bay for HK$15 billion.
“We are well positioned financially to execute the strategic investment plans for our core businesses, and are cautiously optimistic that the positive momentum in the performance of many of our businesses will continue in 2019 ” said Swire Pacific’s chairman Merlin Swire. A sixth-generation descendant of the group’s founder, Swire took over as chairman last July.
The group, whose businesses include aviation, real estate, offshore marine services, said it would pay a final dividend of HK$1.8 per share, up from HK$1.1 per share in 2017.
Cathay Pacific, in which Swire Pacific owns 45 per cent, reported HK$2.3 billion in annual profit last year, reversing from a 2017 loss of HK$1.25 billion. Profit attributable from Cathay Pacific was HK$1.06 billion, compared with a 2017 loss of HK$567 million, Swire Pacific said.
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Specuvestor: Asset - Business - Structure.