BEVERAGE and publishing company Fraser and Neave (F&N) on Thursday (Nov 9) announced a 6.7 per cent rise in net profit to S$133.2 million for the financial year ended Sep 30, from S$124.9 million a year ago.

Revenue grew 4.8 per cent on the year to S$2.1 billion, from S$2 billion. This was largely supported by its beverages segment, whose revenue increased 6.1 per cent to S$603.5 million, said the group in a bourse filing.

It added that the increase in beverage revenue was mainly due to beer operations in Myanmar, which expanded capacity. This was despite unfavourable currency translations of S$16.8 million due to the weakening of the Myanmar kyat against the Singapore dollar.

On the other hand, revenue from its dairies segment slipped 0.4 per cent to S$1.2 billion. This was mainly due to lower dairies sales in Singapore and negative foreign exchange translation on revenue in Thailand.

Revenue from its publishing and printing rose 3.2 per cent to S$221.4 million, which the group attributed to strong book distribution and retail sales despite a weaker performance from education.

Earnings per share stood at 9.2 Singapore cents for the full year, up from 8.6 cents the year before.

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F&N’s board is recommending a final dividend of four cents per share, up from 3.5 cents per share. Together with the interim dividend of 1.5 cents paid in June 2023, this brings the total full-year dividend to 5.5 cents, up from five cents the year before.

The final dividend will be paid on Feb 16, 2024, pending approval at the group’s upcoming annual meeting on Jan 24, 2024.

Hui Choon Kit, chief executive officer of F&N, said that the group will be “doubling down on strategies that have consistently delivered results” as it navigates a complex and inflationary environment.

“Building on the robust momentum of the fourth quarter, our focus remains on driving productivity improvements to fund growth investments, tackle input cost challenges, and maintain balanced growth across the top and bottom lines.”

Shares of F&N closed flat at S$1.04 on Thursday, before the release of the results.