Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 3, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) said third-quarter (3Q) net profit jumped 51% to RM104.5 million, from RM69.37 million a year earlier, thanks to positive contributions from both Malaysia and Thailand.

The group said earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 rose to 28.5 sen from 18.9 sen previously.

Revenue however was slightly lower by 1% to RM1.03 billion from RM1.04 billion.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, F&N said operating profit for its food and beverage segment in Malaysia shot up by 102.8% during the quarter due to cost savings.

In Thailand, operating profit improved by 11.4% thanks to favourable input and packaging material costs despite a slight revenue decline due to price competition.

F&N said that cumulative net profit for the first three quarters remained flat at RM303.89 million, against RM303.73 million in the previous corresponding period. Revenue fell slightly to RM3.11 billion from RM3.13 billion.

Moving forward, the group said the business environment in Thailand is expected to remain challenging with an intensifying competitive price pressure.

“In Malaysia, the management will monitor the impact of the reintroduction of the sales and services tax on Sept 1, 2018 on the pricing of the products,” it added.

F&N shares closed unchanged at RM37.40 yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM13.75 billion.

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