PETALING JAYA: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd’s (F&N) net profit for its third quarter ended June 30, 2021 increased 2.5% to RM96.16 million from RM93.85 million reported in the same quarter of the previous year, mainly due to higher revenue and lower tax expense.
Revenue for the quarter increased 15.4% to RM1.06 billion from a low base of RM918.07 million last year and maiden contribution from its food business (Sri Nona).
For the nine months ended June 30, F&N’s net profit saw a 3.7% jump to RM336.47 million from RM324.39 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year due to investment tax incentives at the Thai subsidiary.
Revenue for the period increased 6.6% to RM3.23 billion from RM3.03 billion previously, contributed by positive revenue contribution from both F&B Malaysia and F&B Thailand as well as maiden contribution from its food business.
The group remains cautious in its outlook given the challenging market conditions. With the escalation in Covid-19 cases in its key markets of Thailand and Malaysia, it expects consumer sentiment to remain weak amid growing unemployment and less disposable income.
“Sales to the out-of-home channels will likely to be further impacted. Furthermore, any further uptrend for key commodities cost will put pressure on our efforts to manage profit margins.
“We will continue to strengthen our fundamentals including reengineering and simplifying processes, optimising resources, reviewing our cost structure and undertaking restructuring exercise where appropriate,” it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.
The group will leverage on technology and digitalisation to improve processes and operations, to provide insight to sharpen our market execution and gain competitive advantage.
“We will continue to refine our product discounts and pricing to strengthen our businesses. At the same time, we will focus on purposeful innovations in the health and wellness category.
“Our new halal food pillar will provide us a platform to expand into more halal food segments and innovative products offerings. We are leveraging on partnerships within our group to expand route-to-market coverage and supply chain synergies and in the near term, to expand capacity for the operations.
“We are confident that our mid and longer term strategies will build a stronger and sustainable business and strengthening our resilience in this new normal,” it said.
