NESTLE GROSS PROFIT JUMPS TO RM2.14B
Maker of Maggi instant noodles declares final dividend of RM1.40 per share
NESTLE (Malaysia) Bhd’s gross profit jumped 9.6 per cent to RM2.14 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018, from RM1.95 billion previously, on back of a higher turnover.
The group registered a revenue of RM5.5 billion last year, an increase of 4.9 per cent from the year before, on strong growth in the domestic and export businesses.
“During the year, we continued to drive marketing and trade investments to reinforce the competitive position of our products on the shelf in the efforts to heighten awareness and endorsement of our brands by consumers,” said chief executive officer Juan Aranols in a statement yesterday.
“We also leveraged opportunities offered by the digital and e-commerce landscape to explore new avenues and deepen engagement with consumers.”
Some of Nestle’s best performing new products last year were Maggi instant noodles, Milo three-in-one less sugar and Nescafe Cold Brew, as well as new ice cream variants such as Oreo ice cream and Nestle Tropicana lychee yoghurt flavour.
In light of the strong performance, the board of directors proposed a final dividend of RM1.40 per share. This will bring total dividends for the year to RM2.80 per share.
Headquartered in Switzerland, Nestle is present in 189 countries around the world with 328,000 employees.
Its presence in Malaysia goes back as far as 1912 and the group now sees the country as one of its key markets in Asia.