PETALING JAYA: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd’s (F&N) net profit for its third quarter ended June 30 fell 18.3% to RM93.85 million from RM114.94 million a year ago, as revenue eased 13.9% to RM918.07 million from RM1.07 billion, reflecting the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and movement control measures on consumer demand.
For the nine-month period, its net profit was 5.2% lower at RM324.39 million compared with RM342.23 million in the previous year’s corresponding period, as revenue declined 2.2% to RM3.03 billion from RM3.1 billion.
In its exchange filing, F&N said it has been a challenging time for many companies as the Covid-19 pandemic and the containment measures take their toll on the economy.
“While we believe our strong business fundamentals will see us through this crisis, we are mindful that globally the war against the pandemic is far from over. We will continue to be vigilant and have taken the necessary measures in our offices and factories to safeguard our staff wellbeing. We have also put in measures to ensure no significant disruption in our supply chain.
“Post-June, we are seeing tentative signs of recovery in demand from Malaysia, Thailand and some of our export markets. As such, we are cautiously optimistic that sales in the fourth quarter will be better than third quarter as economic activities gradually normalise,“ F&N said.
In the longer term, it believes the pandemic is an opportunity for reset and a catalyst for change.
“We will need to be future-focused to ensure we can emerge stronger from this crisis. This will include process improvements and digitalisation. We will continue to invest in capex and in our brands to further strengthen our businesses. We can also leverage on our strong balance sheet, adequate stand-by bank facilities and low funding cost to support our operations and capitalise on opportunities that may arise.”
