KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4): Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) saw its third quarter ended June 30, 2015 (3QFY15) net profit rise 37.35% to RM82.93 million, from RM60.38 million a year ago, mainly driven by higher soft drinks and Thailand dairies’ sales.

Earnings per share (EPS) thus increased to 22.70 sen, from 16.50 sen.

In its explanatory note to Bursa Malaysia today, F&N said soft drinks and Thailand dairies’ revenue both improved 13.8% and 21.2% respectively; its Malaysian dairies saw higher sales volume, but revenue declined by 5.7% on-year as the group priced its products competitively in view of favourable global milk-based commodity costs.

F&N total revenue for 3QFY15 was RM1.08 billion, 10.82% higher than RM971.13 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

For the nine-month period (9MFY15), F&N posted a net profit of RM223.35 million, increased 13.24% from RM197.23 million; while revenue rose 7% to RM3.05 billion, against RM2.85 billion in 9MFY15.

EPS for the cumulative period improved to 61 sen, from 54 sen previously.

Moving forward, F&N said trading conditions of the remaining quarter in FY15, especially in Malaysia, is expected to stay challenging, amidst softer domestic private consumption and other macro-economic factors which adversely impacted the local currency.

Additionally, it said operating cost in Thailand is expected to increase for the next quarter to support brand building and new product launches, in line with the group’s strategy to realign the business contribution amongst its current total brand portfolio.

“Against this backdrop, the board and management will continue to remain vigilant and respond proactively to market dynamics, in order to safeguard the performance of the group,” F&N said.

F&N (fundamental: 1.85; valuation: 1.1) rose 10 sen or 0.55% to RM18.40 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM6.7 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)