FOOD and beverage player Yeo Hiap Seng on Thursday (Feb 29) posted a 183 per cent rise in its net profit for the second half of 2023 to S$3.4 million, from S$1.2 million in the year-ago period.
This came as gross profit margin for the half-year rose 3.4 percentage points on the year to 32.4 per cent on the group’s cost optimisation efforts, which had helped to mitigate the impact of inflation, it stated.
The result translates to earnings per share of 0.54 Singapore cents, higher than H2 FY22’s 0.2 cents.
Revenue, however, fell 14.2 per cent in the half-year to S$151.7 million. The group attributed this to lower sales volume in its Malaysia, Cambodia, the United States and China markets.
For the full year, group revenue fell 7.1 per cent to S$332.7 million, due to movements in foreign exchange rates, which more than offset sales growth in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Without the exchange rate movements, group revenue would have fallen by just 3.2 per cent, the group noted. The fall was due to subdued consumer sentiment worldwide, especially in Cambodia and China, the company said.
Net profit for the full year, meanwhile, grew 180.9 per cent to S$6.7 million, up from S$2.4 million in FY22.
The board has proposed a final dividend of two cents per share for FY23, on par with the dividend declared in the previous corresponding period.
In the year ahead, the company said the management will continue to work on optimising costs by driving “operational efficiency and commercial excellence” across its value chain, even as it works on executing its brand strategy and brand refresh initiative.
The group expects that operating cost inflation and softening of consumer spending amid economic uncertainties will continue to post headwinds to group operations.
Shares of Yeo Hiap Seng closed flat at S$0.575 on Thursday before the results’ release.
