KUALA LUMPUR: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 improved to RM569.81 million from RM552.71 million due to the higher sales and marketing spend efficiency. However, it was offset slightly by increased commodity prices as well as significant COVID-19 related expenses.
Its revenue rose 5.9 per cent to RM5.73 billion from the RM5.41 billion previously, on the back of higher domestic and export sales, which increased by 6.2 per cent and 5.0 per cent respectively, the food producer said in a stock exchange filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
Its basic earnings per share stood at 242.99 sen compared with 235.70 sen previously.
For the fourth quarter, it registered a lower net profit of RM112.10 million from RM132.49 million due to the impact of higher commodity prices and COVID-19-related expenses, which remained sizeable during the quarter.
The profit was also impacted by one-off costs incurred due to the floods, including financial assistance to affected employees, costs for repair or write-offs of damaged vehicles and trade assets as well as donations to communities impacted in the Klang Valley.
Its revenue during the quarter, however, was higher by 7.1 per cent at RM1.47 billion, driven by higher domestic and export sales, which grew by 6 per cent and 10.8 per cent respectively, while basic earnings per share slipped to 47.81 sen against 56.50 sen previously.The company has proposed a third interim dividend of 102 sen per share to be paid on May 19, 2022.
“Moving forward, continued volatility is expected as the pandemic transitions towards an endemic phase while new variants remain a global short term risk factor and global supply chains remain highly disrupted,” the company said. “Without a doubt, challenges will persist in the year ahead, including rising food commodity costs, that in some cases could translate into price increases.”
“Our sustainability agenda will make further progress in 2022. As an example, we kick-started the year transitioning to 100 per cent renewable electricity for all our operations in Malaysia, allowing us to reduce emissions by 75,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year,” it added. – BERNAMA
