LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Jardine Matheson warned first-half profit would fall significantly after the Covid-19 crisis affected many of the conglomerate's businesses in the first quarter.
The company said conditions in Greater China had improved with the relaxing of the coronavirus lockdown its businesses in South East Asia were dealing with difficult trading conditions caused by the virus's spread. The owner of Mandarin Hotels said its business in Indonesia was hit particularly hard.

Jardine Pacific, which covers a wide range of the company's businesses, had mixed results. Profit from construction, lifts and walkways fell while engineering had a "solid contribution", the company said. Restaurant profit fell as customer numbers dropped. Aviation services posted a loss.

Jardine Motors' earnings fell and sales of development properties in China decreased. Mandarin Hotels suffered a loss in the first quarter which will increase significantly in the second quarter. The Dairy Farm retail business suffered as declines in health and beauty sales and other products more than offset higher grocery sales.

"Challenging trading conditions due to the spread of Covid-19 and the measures to control it have adversely affected the group's performance over the period," Jardine Matheson said. "The group's profits for the first half of the year will be significantly reduced compared with the prior year. For the full year, results will depend on the required duration of the anti-pandemic measures but market sentiment is also expected to remain weak for some time."

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