Carlsberg Q1 earnings rise to RM81mil
Better Chinese New Year sales and growth of premium brands push up revenue
PETALING JAYA: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd posted a net profit growth of 19.9% to RM80.8mil for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 as compared to the corresponding quarter last year.
This is on the back of an 9.1% revenue growth to RM548.5mil, driven by better sales during the Chinese New Year festive period, continued growth of premium brands and higher profits from associate company Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC.
Premium brands like Somersby Cider, Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc, Asahi Super Dry and Connor’s Stout Porter in total grew 26% across Malaysia and Singapore in the first quarter.
In a press release yesterday, Carlsberg said it adopted the MFRS 15 reporting standard as at Jan 1, 2018, without restating its prior results.
Had it applied the same standard for the first quarter of 2017, the group’s revenue would have grown 11.7% on a like-to-like basis.
The group added that its Malaysian operations saw revenue grow 20.8% year-on-year on an MFRS 15 restated basis to RM405.8mil while profit from operations grew 19.6% to RM82.5mil.
This was partly contributed by the timing of CNY and trade stocking up in March, prior to price adjustments on April 1, 2018.
However, revenue from its Singapore operations dropped 8% on an MFRS 15 restated basis to RM142.7mil while profit from operations declined 32.2% to RM17.8mil due to lower sales and the appreciation of the ringgit against the Singapore dollar.
Carslberg’s associate company, LBCP, contributed profit of RM5.6mil compared to a loss of RM5.9mil in the previous corresponding quarter on the back of improved operational performance, higher sales and a final insurance settlement related to floods at its factory in 2016.
The group has declared a first interim dividend of 20 sen per share with entitlement and payment dates on June 20 and July 3, respectively, representing a payout ratio of 75.7% of its consolidated net profit for the first quarter.
Carlsberg managing director Lars Lehmann said: “We are proud to deliver strong growth in both revenue and net profit and pay a quarterly dividend for the first time after introducing the new dividend policy.”
Commenting on the outlook, Lehmann said the “Now You Can POP A Draught Anywhere!” campaign has been fuelling the growth of Carlsberg Smooth Draught.
In April, the group launched the innovative “Pop Cap” on Carlsberg Smooth Draught bottles, making it even easier to open and enjoy Carlsberg draught beer in bottles, available in Malaysia and Singapore.
“We are launching our football campaign for consumers to buy Carlsberg and enjoy Probably the Best Football Beer in the World during the upcoming football matches. Consumers can collect exclusive merchandises of their favourite national football team, when they buy Carlsberg and Carlsberg Smooth Draught.
“Due to the strong sales of Somersby Sparkling Rosé as a limited edition during the festive season, we have now made it a permanent Somersby variant in Malaysia and Singapore,” he added.