KUCHING: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad (the Group) has reported a marginally higher revenue by 1 per cent at RM660.2 million with net profit lower by 7.1 per cent to RM85 million for the first quarter ended March 31 2023 (Q1FY23) against the same quarter last year.
The lower performance was attributable to the earlier timing and shorter sales period for the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations that are within this financial year. In addition earnings were impacted by higher input costs and marketing expenses.
The Group’s earnings per share (EPS) for Q1FY23 were 27.81 sen, compared to 29.96 sen in Q1FY22.
The board of directors announced a first interim dividend of 21 sen per share for Q1FY23.
Carlsberg Malaysia’s managing director Stefano Clini said the Group’s quarter one results were impacted by the timing of CNY, with a shorter sales period within the quarter and lower consumer consumption due to increasing concerns on the elevated cost of living amid sluggish economic growth forecasts in Malaysia and Singapore.
“We also observed a shift in consumer spending from domestic consumption to international travel as the latter has become more accessible and beer consumption has normalised after the surge of economic activity experienced after the reopening in 2022,” he said in a press statement.
Additionally, the Group’s Sri Lankan-based associate company Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC saw lower share of profit in Q1FY23 mainly due to the sharp devaluation in the Sri Lankan Rupee against the Malaysian ringgit since March 2022 due to the economic crisis in that country.
“We increased investments behind Carlsberg with ‘Brewing Prosperity Together’ CNY campaign in both Malaysia and Singapore, followed by the re-launch of a new identity and packaging of SKOL beer in Malaysia.
“Our ‘Raikan Kebanggaan Sabah & Sarawak’ campaign is back for the 3rd consecutive year in
the Borneo islands with special-edition packaging launch starting from April and the
‘#BestWithCarlsberg’ consumer promotion in Peninsula Malaysia in May,” Clini added.
“On premiumisation, 1664 Rosé’s ‘Celebrate Moments with a Twist’ and ‘Love with A Twist’ campaigns in Malaysia and Singapore respectively, held in conjunction with Valentine’s Day, was a resounding success,” he said, adding that in March, the company rolled out Connor’s International Stout Month campaign in both countries, and launched Somersby Passion Fruit & Orange variant in Singapore.
On the sustainability front, he said the Group is making progress in reducing its environmental footprint through its Together towards ZERO and Beyond (TTZAB) ESG programme.
“The Group is on track to fulfil its commitment to ZERO Carbon Emissions, as evidenced by a significant reduction in total carbon emissions. In the quarter under review, the Group recorded a decline in both energy consumption and water consumption,” he said.
The Group’s transparency and action on climate was upgraded to a rating of ‘A’ by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and its resilience to long-term ESG risks remain rated at ‘AA’ by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) in the recent reviews.
Looking ahead, Clini said the Group expects the global economy to remain highly uncertain, and inflationary pressures to rise with the disruption to global supply chains and the escalating commodity prices posing challenges.
“Embarking on our SAIL’27 corporate strategy, the Group will continue to strengthen our mainstream beers, step up on premiumisation and continue to build alcohol-free brews as an alternative for consumers who prefer non-alcoholic beverages. We will stay focused on revenue management and manage our business vigilantly through our “Funding Our Journey” initiatives,” added Clini.
