Dividends Boost Average YTD Returns of Jardine Companies to 8%

• SGX lists Jardine Matheson Holdings and Jardine Strategic Holdings, in addition to four companies held by Jardine Strategic Holdings – Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm International, Mandarin Oriental and Jardine Cycle & Carriage.

• Four of the stocks represent approx. 13% of the STI and approx. 7% of the MSCI Hong Kong Index. Jardine Matheson, Jardine Strategic and Hongkong Land are in both indices, while Jardine Cycle & Carriage is in the STI and Dairy Farm International is in the MSCI Hong Kong.

• The six stocks have averaged a 5.9% price gain in the 2018 YTD, with dividends boosting their SGD total return to 7.6% (both in SGD terms). Five of the six stocks are secondary listings and traded in USD, with the primary listed Jardine Cycle & Carriage traded in SGD.

Three of the five strongest constituents of the Straits Times Index (“STI”) in July were Jardine Strategic Holdings (“JSH”), Jardine Matheson Holdings (“JMH”) and Jardine Cycle & Carriage. According to the July FTSE ST index Series Report, the three stocks averaged a 7.2% price gain in July, outperforming the STI’s 1.6% gain.

The Group

Jardine Matheson is a diversified Asian-based group, founded in China, operating principally in Greater China and Southeast Asia while employing 440,000 people. JMH is the listed holding company of the Jardine Group which oversees a portfolio of market-leading businesses that supports their long-term development. JMH holds an 84% interest in JSH. In turn, JSH, is also a listed company holding most of the Group’s major listed interests, including 58% of JMH. Both stocks are secondary listings on SGX and traded in USD.

Four companies held by JSH – Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm International, Mandarin Oriental International and Jardine Cycle & Carriage – are also listed on SGX. Like JMH and JSH, Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm International and Mandarin Oriental International are secondary listings and traded in USD. Despite the five stocks maintaining a secondary listing on SGX, the majority of their day-to-day trading volume is generally transacted on SGX.

The latter stock, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, is a primary listing on SGX and traded in SGD. Jardine Cycle & Carriage maintains a shareholding of just over 50% in Astra International, a premier listed Indonesian conglomerate, as well as motor and other strategic interests in Southeast Asia.

Recent Financials

• For the six months ended 30 June 2018, JMH reported its underlying profit was up 6% YoY and JSH reported its underlying profit was up 9% YoY. For more details on JMH financials click here, while JSH results can be found here.

• Strong performances were attributed to from Astra and Jardine Cycle & Carriage which were partially offset by Jardine Pacific. Dairy Farm International saw a slight increase in profit, while Hongkong Land was slightly down against the prior year. Jardine Cycle & Carriage results can be found here; Dairy Farm International results can be found here; and Hongkong Land found here.

• At Mandarin Oriental International, underlying profits were higher due to generally improved performances across the Group’s portfolio, notably in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Tokyo. Its recent results can be found here.

Recent Performances

The six stocks have averaged a 5.9% price gain, in SGD terms, in the 2018 year thus far. All six stocks have paid dividends, with distributions boosting their year to date total return to 7.6%. Performances in SGD terms in the year thus far have ranged from -11.7% for Jardine Cycle & Carriage to +17.4% for Mandarin Oriental International. The USD/SGD exchange rate has strengthened from 1.31 at the end of 2017 to 1.37 at present.

Combined the six stocks traded on SGX saw a total net inflow of S$13.4 million from institutional investors over the first seven months of 2017.

While Mandarin Oriental International has been the strongest of the six stocks in the 2018 year thus far, it was the least strongest of the six stocks over the past 20 years with 9.8% average annualised total returns. The average annualised total return of the six stocks since early August 1998 was 15.1%.

To see more details on each stock in SGX StockFacts, please click on the stock name below.

Stock	SGX Code	Market Cap S$M	Price Change YTD %	Total Return YTD %	P/E (x)	Indicative Dividend Yield %	Average Annualised 20 year Total Return %
Jardine Matheson Hldgs	J36	67,332	12.6	14.8	10	2.4	20.4
Jardine Strategic Hldgs	J37	58,982	0.6	1.2	8	0.8	18.6
Hongkong Land Hldgs	H78	23,203	4.8	6.9	5	2.8	12.6
Dairy Farm Intl Hldgs	D01	16,267	14.5	16.6	29	2.4	13.9
Jardine Cycle & Carriage	C07	13,817	-14.0	-11.7	18	3.4	15.5
Mandarin Oriental Intl	M04	3,972	16.7	17.4	47	1.3	9.8
Average:			5.9	7.6	19	2.2	15.1

Source: Bloomberg & SGX StockFacts (data as of 2 August 2018). Note: Jardine Matheson Hldgs, Jardine Strategic Hldgs, Hongkong Land Hldgs, Dairy Farm Intl Hldgs, Mandarian Oriental Intl are traded in USD however SGD equivalents are shown in t

Four of the stocks represent approximately 13% of the STI and approximately 7% of the MSCI Hong Kong Index. Jardine Matheson, Jardine Strategic and Hong Kong Land are in both indices, while Jardine Cycle & Carriage is in the STI and Dairy Farm International is in the MSCI Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on SGX.