Malaysia: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, owner of Tiger Beer, posted 10.64% increase of its net profit

The owner of Tiger Beer, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, posted its net profit for the second quarter to March 2005 was up 10.64 % compared with a year earlier, although it was affected by higher packaging and raw material costs in the food and beverage business, AFX News communicated on May 5.

F&NL's Food & Beverage business activities and operations are executed via Asia Pacific Breweries Limited for beer; F&N Holdings Berhad and F&N Foods Singapore for soft drinks, dairies, ice cream and non-carbonated beverages (juices, Isotonic & Asian drinks). Asia Pacific Breweries Limited (APBL) is a leading brewer with a portfolio of over 40 beer brands and brand variants in Asia Pacific.

In notes accompanying results, the company said its soft drink business registered strong festive sales and "last bite" deliveries to distributors in March in anticipation of the price increase effective April 2005. It said dairies product volume also improved 7 percent over the same period last year.

For the half year to March, it said that its revenue and operating profit were 10.6 percent and 9.2 percent higher, respectively, than a year earlier. During the six months, the company posted a revenue of 972.68 mln rgt against 879.66 mln a year earlier and posted a net profit of 66.11 mln rgt against 59.75 mln rgt in year-earlier period.

The company said it is cautiously optimistic of a satisfactory performance for the year with earnings dependent on its ability to maintain margins, as its businesses will face the full impact of cost pressures from sharply higher packaging, material and energy costs.

It said it has taken steps to contain significant cost increases but added it is inevitable that some of these cost increases will have to be shared by consumers in the form of price increases.

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