[SINGAPORE] Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) posted a 4 per cent drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) to 45 billion baht (S$1.8 billion) for the nine months ended Jun 30, from 46.9 billion baht in the same period in the previous year.
The reported figures for the nine months ended Jun 30, 2024, have been adjusted to account for the consolidation of Fraser and Neave following its share swap with ThaiBev in September 2024, said the company in a business update on Thursday (Aug 14).
Before the adjustment, ThaiBev’s Ebitda for the first nine months ended Jun 30, 2024, was 38.6 billion baht.
Sales revenue for the nine months ended Jun 30 this year came in at 258.6 billion baht, down 0.4 per cent from 259.8 billion baht in the corresponding period last year.
Ebitda for its spirits business fell to 22.2 billion baht. The drop was attributed to an increase in marketing for brand investment and support for new product launches. Sales revenue for the period declined slightly to 92.8 billion baht, compared with the prior year.
Ebitda for its beer segment increased 4 per cent from the year-ago period to 12.6 billion baht, due to a decrease in raw material cost and more efficient production.
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Nevertheless, the beer segment recorded a sales revenue of 96.5 billion baht, a slight decline of 0.3 per cent from the previous year. The decline was primarily due to the challenging market conditions in Vietnam, said the company.
Ebitda for its non-alcoholic beverage segment declined by 6.3 per cent to 8.7 billion baht, primarily due to increased brand investment and marketing activities aimed at engaging consumers across all channels, as well as a lower share of profit from associates.
The food segment posted a lower Ebitda of 1.6 billion baht, down 19.5 per cent from a year earlier, due to higher raw material and labour costs.
The group’s “others” business segment, comprising publishing and printing, reported a 5.9 per cent decline in sales revenue to 3.6 billion baht, primarily due to the absence of one-off contributions, including title sales and licensing income, which had boosted the previous year’s results. This, along with higher printing costs, resulted in a negative Ebitda of four million baht.
Shares of ThaiBev closed Thursday up 1.1 per cent or S$0.005 at S$0.475, before the business update was released.
