1. Cathay Placement

1.1 Placement Summary

Swire Pacific announced a placement of part of its stake in Cathay Pacific Airways Limited on 12 March 2026 (HKEX announcement):

Placement terms
Item Detail
Size 153,059,000 shares (2.52% of total Cathay shares)
Price HK$11.74 per share
Net proceeds ~HK$1,789 million
Discount 9.6% below HK$12.99 close (12 Mar 2026)
Pre-sale stake 47.64% of Cathay
Post-sale stake 45.12% of Cathay
Expected gain ~HK$365 million

1.2 Swire Cathay Stake Value

From the HKEX announcement:

  • 153,059,000 Sale Shares = 2.52% of total issued Cathay shares (ex-treasury)
  • Swire’s pre-sale stake: 47.64% of Cathay
  • Swire’s post-sale stake: 45.12% of Cathay
  • Implied total Cathay shares ≈ 153,059,000 ÷ 0.0252 ≈ 6,073 million

At placement price (HK$11.74):

  • Cathay market cap ≈ 6,073M × 11.74 ≈ HK$71.3 billion
  • Swire’s 45.12% stake ≈ 45.12% × 71.3 ≈ HK$32.2 billion

At closing price (HK$12.99, 12 Mar 2026):

  • Cathay market cap ≈ 6,073M × 12.99 ≈ HK$78.9 billion
  • Swire’s 45.12% stake ≈ 45.12% × 78.9 ≈ HK$35.6 billion

1.3 Cathay Stake as % of Swire

Cathay stake (45.12%) as share of Swire Pacific
Basis Cathay stake value Swire market cap % of Swire
At placement price (HK$11.74) HK$32.2B HK$300.2B 10.7%
At close (HK$12.99, 12 Mar 2026) HK$35.6B HK$300.2B 11.9%

Swire’s 45.12% Cathay stake represents roughly 11–12% of Swire Pacific’s market capitalisation.

2. Swire A-Share Valuation

2.1 Dual Share Structure

Swire Pacific has a dual-class share structure (HKEX 00019 A-shares, 00087 B-shares):

Source: Share counts at 31 Dec 2025 from Swire Pacific 2025 Annual Results (Note 10 Share Capital); corroborated by HKEX Monthly Return FF301 (Feb 2026).

Swire Pacific share structure
Class HKEX Code Issued Shares Dividend ratio
A shares 00019 778,988,000 5× B share
B shares 00087 2,848,932,500 1×

Each share carries one vote. EPS is calculated using a 5:1 B-equivalent denominator.

2.2 2025 Earnings and P/E (A-Share Perspective)

Source: Swire Pacific 2025 Annual Results (announced 12 Mar 2026)

Profit attributable to shareholders
Metric 2025 (HK$M) 2024 (HK$M) Change
Profit attributable (reported) 2,938 4,321 -32%
Underlying profit 11,373 10,471 +9%
Earnings per share (underlying)
EPS 2025 (HK$) 2024 (HK$)
Underlying — A share 8.38 7.41
Underlying — B share 1.68 1.48

2.3 A-Share vs Company P/E

Using representative prices (A: HK$82.75, B: HK$13.29):

A-share vs company-level P/E
Perspective Calculation P/E
A-share holder 82.75 ÷ 8.38 9.9x (underlying)
Company-level HK$300.21B ÷ HK$11,373M 26.4x (underlying)

For an A-share investor: The 9.9x underlying P/E is the relevant metric — it reflects the price paid per share and the earnings attributable to that share. The company-level 26.4x is used for peer comparison; the A-share P/E is what an A-share holder sees on a quote screen.

2.4 Share Counts

Swire Pacific share counts (2025)
Measure A shares B shares Total
Weighted average (EPS basis) 786,169,236 2,853,521,185 3,639,690,421
Year-end (31 Dec 2025) 778,988,000 2,848,932,500 3,627,920,500

B-equivalent total: (A×5) + B = 6,784,367,365

3. Peer Comparison

3.1 Summary

Peer group summary
Company Ticker Market cap Shares (M) Underlying profit P/E (underlying)
Swire Pacific 0019/0087.HK HK$300.21B 3,628* HK$11,373M 26.4x
CK Hutchison 0001.HK HK$224.44B 3,830 HK$20,828M 10.8x
Jardine Matheson J36.SI US$54.63B 296 US$1,700M 32.1x

*Swire: A 779M + B 2,849M (year-end 2025).

3.2 Shares and Earnings

Share structure and earnings
Company Share structure Shares outstanding Underlying profit Period
Swire Pacific Dual-class (A + B) A: 779M, B: 2,849M HK$11,373M 2025
CK Hutchison Single class 3,830M HK$20,828M 2024
Jardine Matheson Single class 296M US$1,700M 2025

3.3 Multiples

Valuation multiples
Company P/E (underlying) P/E (reported)
Swire Pacific 26.4x 102.2x
CK Hutchison 10.8x 13.1x
Jardine Matheson 32.1x 49.7x

CK Hutchison data is 2024 (2025 not yet reported); Swire and Jardine are 2025. Jardine in USD.

3.4 Observations

  1. Swire trades at 26.4x underlying earnings, between CK Hutchison (10.8x) and Jardine (32.1x).
  2. CK Hutchison has the lowest P/E, partly reflecting Vietnam telecom impairment and weaker sentiment.
  3. Jardine has the highest P/E, with stronger recent performance and capital recycling.
  4. Swire’s dual-class structure means A-share P/E (9.9x) differs from company-level P/E (26.4x); for peer comparison, use the company-level figure.

4. Sources

Data sources
Data Source
Cathay placement (HKEX) HKEX 2026031300119
Swire share structure, earnings 2025 Annual Results (HKEX Note 10), FF301 Monthly Return
Swire market cap Yahoo Finance, CompaniesMarketCap
CK Hutchison CompaniesMarketCap, 2024 Annual Results
Jardine Matheson CompaniesMarketCap, Business Times

Links: Cathay placement (HKEX) · 2025 Annual Results (HKEX) · FF301 Monthly Return · Swire Pacific IR · Yahoo Finance · CompaniesMarketCap · Business Times