6 June 2024
Under the Radar: How far is ComfortDelGro anchored in Singapore and the taxi business? Its Chairman Mark Greaves sheds light on the matter.
We’re going to talk about a company that is most famously known as a taxi and bus operator here in sunny Singapore.
Formed in March 2003 through the merger of two publicly-listed land transport companies – Comfort Group and DelGro Corporation, our guest is ComfortDelGro, and one of the largest land transport companies in the world.
The company's businesses now include bus, taxi, rail, car rental and leasing, automotive, inspection and testing services, driving centres, non-emergency patient  transport services, insurance broking and even outdoor advertising.
Just to give you a sense of ComfortDelGro’s scale, the firm now operates in 12 countries such as Singapore, Australia, the UK, New Zealand and China, with a global fleet of about 40,000 vehicles.
In Singapore, the company owns 75% of the largest scheduled bus operator SBS Transit, and operates about 9,000 Comfort and CityCab taxis. And if you do drive, the firm is behind the car inspection company Vicom.
But why are we talking to ComfortDelGro you might ask? Well, ComfortDelGro had in May posted a 23.8 per cent year on year increase in net profit to S$40.6 million in Q1 ended March, thanks to higher revenue from its public transport, taxi and private hire vehicles, and lower rental discounts in Singapore and China.
But how does the firm assess its latest performance, and how far is this contributed by Singapore?
Meanwhile, the firm had in March told The Straits Times that the rail business is a key pillar for ComfortDelGro that it wants to double down on, with the firm working on tenders in the UK and Sydney. But why is this the case, and could the firm be moving away from its taxi business?
The firm had also in February this year acquired UK-based ground transport management and accommodation network specialist CMAC for £80.2 million (S$135.4 million). More recently, ComfortDelGro had in April announced an S$100 million green loan to decarbonise its bus fleet in the UK.
But what is the rationale behind the moves in its overseas markets? Are the UK and Australia stronghold markets for ComfortDelGro and what role does Singapore play in this regard?
On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Mark Greaves, Chairman, ComfortDelGro.

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