Capital Calls: Swire falls further behind rivals

Swire Properties

12/03/2021 06:22

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are their own.)
    HONG KONG, March 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Concise
insights on global finance in the Covid-19 era.
 
    -------------------------------------------------

DISCOUNTED. Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Pacific  0019.HK  can
learn from its rival. The company just reported its first-ever
annual loss https://www.swirepacific.com/en/media/press/p210311a.pdf
 of $512 million for 2020 and warned that the worst was not yet
over. Covid-19 and the city’s political turmoil have battered
units  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2DT0NA including airline Cathay Pacific  0293.HK 
and retail-geared Swire Properties  1972.HK . On Friday, Cathay,
burdened by Hong Kong’s extreme three-week quarantine
requirement, said passenger traffic dropped 98% year-on-year in
February.
    Not all of Swire’s rivals are suffering similarly. Fellow
trading house Jardine Matheson  JARD.SI , albeit with a
different business mix, just reported a $1 billion net profit
for 2020. More gallingly, Jardine’s historic restructuring
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2L602A unveiled on Monday has helped narrow its valuation
discount: its shares now trade at one-tenth below their
post-revamp net asset value, compared to 26% before the
announcement. Swire offers a 50% discount to net asset value.
Business is tough, but a restructuring might help. (By Jennifer
Hughes)           
    
    On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews
    
    Earlier in Capital Calls:
    
    Glencore’s green chairman potential  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2L93Z2
    Global CEOs show nervous optimism  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2L93IN 
    UK retail-trading boom ignored  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2L92UP
    Grocers count cost of pandemic  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2L90P5
    Australia takes a flyer on travel  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2L904X
    
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 (Editing by Robyn Mak and Katrina Hamlin)