KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 11): Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd's (Carlsberg Malaysia) net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY22) climbed almost three-fold to RM76.39 million from RM25.98 million in the same period last year, contributed by higher contributions from both Malaysian and Singaporean operations, but they were partly offset by a one-off prosperity tax.

Earnings per share shot up to 24.98 sen from 8.5 sen previously, the beverage company's Bursa Malaysia filing on Friday (Nov 11) showed.

Quarterly revenue rose 63.65% to RM571.63 million from RM349.29 million in the same period a year ago.

Revenue from the Malaysian operation leapt 94.4% to RM421.7 million, thanks to growth in both volume and value following the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions and a price adjustment effective in July.

Meanwhile, the Singaporean operation contributed a sales revenue of RM149.9 million, a 13.3% increase on the back of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and lifting of travel restrictions.

The group declared a third interim dividend of 19 sen during the quarter under review, to be payable on Dec 9.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2022, Carlsberg Malaysia's net profit almost doubled to RM256.93 million from RM129.57 million, as revenue grew 46.26% to RM1.8 billion from RM1.23 billion.

Looking ahead, Carlsberg Malaysia will continue its approach of assessing dividends after taking into consideration the group's performance, its capital expenditure and business needs, as well as the overall business environment.

According to a separate statement, Carlsberg Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini expects the outlook to remain challenging, given the global inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions and further cost pressures on the group. 

In addition, it is facing the impact from a one-off prosperity tax, which will continue to affect the earnings for the final quarter of the year.

"We welcome the government's decision of no increase for beer excise in the recently tabled National Budget 2023. This, together with more enforcement, will help further curb the growth of illicit beer and augur well for the government and the legitimate beer industry.

"Staying committed to implementing the final year of our SAIL'22 priorities, we will continue to stay disciplined in cost optimisation initiatives to deliver efficiencies, whilst continuing to reinvest in our brands to fuel growth," Clini added.

Carlsberg Malaysia's share price finished 30 sen or 1.3% higher at RM23.40 on Friday, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM7.15 billion.