Click Here to view F&N Analyst Briefing presentation slides to be presented tomorrow on 8 May 2012)
(F&N closing stock today (7.5.2012) was RM 19.00)
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) net profit fell 18.93% to RM107.01 million in its second quarter ended Mar 31,2012 from RM131.99 million a year earlier as a result of the cessation of its Coca-Cola business and flood disruptions in Thailand.
Revenue decreased 27.61% to RM730.43 million from RM1.00 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, earnings per share were 29.70 sen compared to 36.80 sen last year.
F&N declared an interim single tier dividend of 20 sen per share for the financial year ending Sept 30, 2012 amounting to RM73 million to be paid on August 1.
F&N chief executive officer Datuk Ng Jui Sia in a statement Monday said while the lower revenue was already expected due to the cessation of the Coca-Cola business, the natural calamity in Thailand caused extensive damage to production facilities, leading to production and sales losses.
He added that excluding the Coca-Cola revenue contribution of RM269 million, F&N's 17% drop in revenue was attributed to the loss in revenue in Thailand, lower sales in its dairies segment and the absence of property sales.
Although revenue had generally fallen, F&N reported an 8% increase in its soft drinks revenue on the back of an 11% rise in volume, boosted by post Chinese New Year sales of 100PLUS, a 6% growth in its Seasons range and a 29% jump in Red Bull sales.
"While we navigate through one of the most challenging periods of our long-standing history of success, our fundamentals are strong and paradoxically, the natural calamity in Thailand has in fact propelled us ahead of the competition," Ng said.
The Thai flooding had effectively placed F&N's entire Thai business in a reset mode, fortunately giving the group the advantage to jumpstart full operations ahead of the market, he added.
For the first six months ended Mar 31, revenue fell 27.94% to RM1.47 billion from RM2.04 billion a year ago while profit decreased 37.76% to RM148.8 million from RM239.07 million.
Source: www.theedgemalaysia.com
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