Delfi Q1 Ebitda up 24.5% to US$25.5m on higher revenue
Uma Devi
CHOCOLATE maker Delfi on Tuesday (May 16) posted a 24.5 per cent increase in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for its first fiscal quarter ended March to US$25.5 million.
In a brief business update filing to the bourse, the company attributed this to higher revenue, higher profitability and a “tight control of operating expenses”.
Revenue for Q1 was up 20.8 per cent to US$160.8 million from US$133.1 million.
The group attributed the stronger financials to “robust growth” for both its own brands and agency brands, and across both its Indonesia and regional markets.
Segmentally, revenue contributions from the group’s own brands rose 17.6 per cent year on year to US$100.3 million, while agency brands’ revenue was up 26.7 per cent to US$60.5 million.
In Indonesia, Delfi said, revenue growth was driven chiefly by the SilverQueen and Delfi Premium products.
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The company said its Ebitda and sales figures were stronger as its team continued to capture higher consumer demand by driving the growth of its core strategic products amid the continued post-Covid recoveries in its key markets.
In Q1, the group’s gross profit margin rose to 30.4 per cent from 29.1 per cent in the corresponding year-ago period due to a higher contribution from its premium brands in the sales mix.
However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the group’s profit margin was lower compared to Q4’s margin of 32.8 per cent, which the group attributed primarily to higher levels of trade promotions in Q1 to drive sales growth and higher consumer demand for Valentine’s Day and Lebaran.
Looking ahead, the company said it remains unclear how much longer the global economic uncertainties such as higher interest rates, currency volatility, geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures, will persist.
Delfi said it expects the positive momentum in Q1 to carry on for the most of the year.
“We remain focused on executing growth strategies for our core brands, strengthening our distribution capabilities and supporting growth in our regional businesses so as to continue to benefit from this expected growth in consumer demand in our key markets,” said the company.
“With our strong balance sheet and effective product and distribution strategies in place, barring unforeseen circumstances, we look forward to a good performance in 2023.”
Shares of Delfi lost 1.6 per cent or S$0.02 on Tuesday to close at S$1.26 prior to the results announcement.
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