F&N Q2 earnings drop despite exceptional gain

BEVERAGE seller Fraser & Neave (F&N) posted a second-quarter net profit plunge of 67.1 per cent to S$3.8 million from the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday evening.

For the three months ended March 31, revenue dropped 5.8 per cent to S$451.3 million from the year-ago period. Even after an exceptional gain in the quarter, earnings per share for the period shrank to 0.6 Singapore cents from 0.8 Singapore cents in the year-ago period.

It declared an interim dividend per share of 1.5 Singapore cents, unchanged from the previous year, to be paid on June 9. F&N shares ended S$0.01 or 0.4 per cent higher at S$2.40 on Monday before the results.