F&N 9-month net profit falls 7.9% to S$89.6 million

Claudia Chong

Claudia Chong

Published Fri, Aug 4, 2023 · 06:13 PM
    • Unfavourable foreign exchange conversion, higher advertising and promotional spending, and high input costs weighed on profits, says F&N.
    • Unfavourable foreign exchange conversion, higher advertising and promotional spending, and high input costs weighed on profits, says F&N. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

    MAINBOARD-LISTED drinks maker Fraser and Neave (F&N) reported a 7.9 per cent fall in net profit for the nine months ended Jun 30, 2023, despite a 5.6 per cent rise in revenue.

    F&N, in a business update on Friday (Aug 4), said net profit decreased to S$89.6 million from S$97.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share stood at S$0.062, compared with S$0.067 during the corresponding period the year before.

    Unfavourable foreign exchange conversion, higher advertising and promotional spending, and high input costs weighed on profits, the company said.

    Earnings from the dairies segment, its largest profit contributor, were flat similarly due to unfavourable foreign exchange and high input costs, in addition to a lower share of profits from Vinamilk. Beverages earnings fell 22 per cent, despite higher sales.

    F&N’s revenue grew to S$1.6 billion from S$1.5 billion in the previous nine-month period.

    The beverages and dairies segments grew on the back of higher selling prices, festive campaigns, new product launches and higher export sales.

    Shares of F&N closed flat at S$1.08 on Friday, before the business update.

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