KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 25): Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd (Nestlé Malaysia) was the top gainer this morning, rising RM1.70 or 1.27% to RM135.60.
At the time of writing today, the stock had pared some gains at RM135.20.
Yesterday, Nestlé announced that its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 (2QFY21) rose by 27.46% to RM134.53 million from RM105.53 million for the previous year’s corresponding quarter.
Earnings per share (EPS) rose to 57.37 sen from 45 sen.
The improved results were due to strong revenue growth which offset the impact of higher commodity prices and marketing expenses, as well as significant costs related to Covid-19 containment.
In terms of quarterly revenue, that grew by 13.16% to RM1.38 billion against RM1.22 billion previously, driven by a robust domestic sales growth of 15.8%.
This was due to an 8.4% growth in its core food and beverage (F&B) business and a rebound in its out-of-home (OOH) business, compared to very low sales a year ago when strict lockdowns were implemented to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nestlé also declared an interim dividend of 70 sen per share to its shareholders, to be paid on Oct 7, 2021.
Looking at the first half ended June 30, 2021 (1HFY21), the group’s net profit increased marginally by 6.12% to RM309.69 million from RM291.84 million reported for the same period last year (1HFY20).
The rise in 1HFY21 earnings was due to lower taxes from the reinvestment allowance tax incentive for its new plant-based meal solutions manufacturing facility.