KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd saw a 21% drop in its net profit for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY2014) to RM109.84 million, from RM138.26 million a year ago, even as revenue rose a marginal 2% to RM1 billion, from RM980.07 million.

In its filing to Bursa Malaysia today, Dutch Lady (fundamental: 2.1; valuation: 0.9) attributed its lower profitability to higher dairy-based commodity prices and weakening ringgit.

Its earnings per share (EPS) for the period fell to 171.6 sen per share, from 216 sen per share the year before.

Dutch Lady also announced a single-tier standard interim dividend of 50 sen per share and a single-tier special interim dividend of 60 sen for the financial year ending Dec 31, Dec 2015.

The entitlement and ex-dates for the dividends are April 28 and 24 respectively.

For its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), net profit rose 5% to RM33.95 million, from RM32.4 million a year earlier, giving a higher EPS of 53.05 sen, compared to 50.6 sen.

Revenue for the quarter rose 1% to RM263.84 million, from RM260.34 million the year before.

The diary company attributed the growth in revenue to progression in its powder products.

Going forward, Dutch Lady expects a competitive business environment, amid less robust consumer confidence.

“Despite the ongoing business challenges, for 2015, the company remains committed to leveraging the strength of the Dutch Lady brand by innovating and renovating the product portfolio, as well as enhancing higher productivity,” it said.

Dutch Lady closed 28 sen or 0.6% lower at RM46.06, with a market capitalisation of RM2.97 billion.

Separately, Dutch Lady announced the resignation of its chief financial officer Ivo Christiaan Ogink, who has been re-assigned by Royal FrieslandCampina NV, its ultimate holding company, to assume the role of finance director for FrieslandCampina Romania, based in Bucharest, Romania, with effect from 1 April 2015.

He will be replaced by Mirjam Joanna Ghislaine van Thiel, effective March 16, 2015.

(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.)