Monday 28 February 2011

Nestle 4Q net profit falls 54pct to RM39.26m as margins squeezed

Nestle 4Q net profit falls 54pct to RM39.26m as margins squeezed
Written by Surin Murugiah of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 24 February 2011 19:36


KUALA LUMPUR: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit fell 54.5% to RM39.26 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM86.22 million a year ago, as its profit margin was squeezed mainly by higher investments in brand building, overhead expenses and increase in commodity costs.

Nestle had on Thursday, Feb 24, said its revenue for the quarter rose to RM963.89 million from RM950.63 million. Earnings per share were 16.74 sen while net assets per share was RM2.62.

It proposed a final dividend of RM1.15 per share, under the single-tier system.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, Nestle's net profit rose 11.25% to RM391.39 million from RM351.79 million in 2009, while revenue rose to RM4.03 from RM3.74 billion.

Nestle said the higher revenue to the positive developments in both the local and global economies.

“With the improvement of the Malaysian economy, most of the domestic product categories continued to perform well. This was quite evident for Nestle liquid drinks and chilled dairy which achieved double digit growth.

"From a channel perspective, both retail and out of home sales enjoyed good growth," it said.

On its current year prospects, Nestle said that after an encouraging 2010, the local economy was expected to grow further, leveraging on the government's Economic Transformation Plan.

Nestle said the sharp increase in the global commodity prices and the government's gradual reduction in food and fuel subsidies which put pressure on its input costs remained a concern.

"The group will continue to closely monitor the development of commodity prices, evaluate and adjust its pricing policy accordingly.

"Where possible the group will leverage operational efficiencies and cost savings initiatives to avoid passing on price increases to consumers," it said.

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