Nestle’s 3Q net profit up 15.7 per cent to RM137.68 million

KUALA LUMPUR: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18) rose 15.7 per cent to RM137.68 million from RM119.01 million in 3Q17, driven by strong domestic and export sales.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 increased 8.3 per cent to RM1.43 billion from RM1.32 billion previously, it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

“The zero per cent Goods and Services Tax implementation from June 2018 to August 2018 further boosted consumer spending, leading to higher demand and increased sales,” it said.

It added that with the move and transition to its new National Distribution Centre (NDC), which was fully completed in 2Q18, the group benefited from the encouraging market situation.

“The favourable price trend in major raw materials and our continuous drive for efficiency along the supply chain led to this margin improvement.

“The quarter also saw strong marketing and promotional activities supporting the higher sales, and this was reflected in the higher operational expenses recorded,” said Nestle.

For the cumulative nine months, Nestle’s net profit jumped to RM535.06 million from RM511.13 million in the corresponding period last year, while revenue rose to RM4.17 billion from RM3.97 billion.

On the outlook, the company said it remained committed to its long-term strategy to ‘Fuel the Growth’ via its innovative drive and strong brand portfolio enhancement.

“We are confident that our investments, including the new NDC, will enable us to maintain our solid growth momentum,” it said.

In line with this commitment, the group has recently announced a RM100 million investment to expand its Chembong factory in Negeri Sembilan, making it the largest MILO manufacturing Centre of Excellence in the world.