KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (4QFY15) fall 8.8% to RM56.7 million or 15.5 sen per share from RM62.2 million or 17 sen per share in the same period last year, on weaker performance in its soft drinks segment.

Quarterly revenue, however, came in 3.7% higher at RM1 billion from RM964.52 million a year ago, underpinned by better revenue from its dairies operations in both Malaysia and Thailand.

This improvement was, however, unable to fully mitigate the impact of lower revenue and operating profit in its soft drinks segment, its filing with Bursa Malaysia showed today.

The dairy products and soft drinks manufacturer proposed a 35.5 sen dividend for the current quarter under review, payable on Feb 4, 2016, bringing its full-year dividend to 57.5 sen per share.

For the full year (FY15), its net profit rose 8% to RM280.07 million against RM259.43 million last year, due to higher revenue and lower milk-based commodity cost during the year.

Revenue grew 6.3% on year to RM4.06 billion from RM3.82 billion in FY14, due to strong revenue growth from its dairies operations in both Malaysia and Thailand, which registered an increase of 3% and 17.7% respectively.

F&N said its operating profit for the year grew 5.7% to RM331.99 million as compared to RM314.2 million in FY14.

However, its property segment recorded higher operating loss for the year due to the change in fair value of investment properties adjustment that was recognised on its investment property, amounting to RM6.3 million.

"The 'others segment' recorded higher operating loss for the year mainly due to foreign exchange loss on the provision for liabilities," it added.

Going forward, F&N expects to see challenging trading conditions in both Malaysia and Thailand against a softer consumer sentiment and volatile currency exchange rates.

"The weaker consumer demand is expected to be characterised by intense price competition. Selling costs, in particular advertising and promotion related costs, are expected to increase significantly and with the sales and marketing strategies that have been initiated, the group is confident it can maintain its existing market leadership positions," it added.

Further, F&N said it has hedged the price of milk-based products and canning materials, which made up a significant part of its production costs and was denominated in foreign currencies, for the coming financial year.

"We will continue to execute our plans to deliver shareholder value and believe that the group will be able to invest on its growth strategies whilst sustaining its current dividend trends," it added.

F&N's shares closed six sen or 0.33% lower at RM18 today, for a market capitalisation of RM6.59 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.)