Nestle records marginal increase in Q1 earnings

PETALING JAYA: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd recorded a marginal increase in its net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 to RM231.22 million from RM230.69 million a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Nestle said its operating profit was higher by RM4 million at RM303 million while pre-tax profit rose RM4 million to RM295 million.

“A satisfactory bottom-line performance considering the first quarter of 2017 was already on a high base. The impact of slightly higher commodity prices as well as from increased marketing investments for the Chinese New Year sales that was compensated by a strong revenue growth,” it said.

Revenue for the quarter rose 4.2% to RM1.43 billion from RM1.37 billion a year ago driven by higher domestic sales and export sales, which grew 4.4% and 3.4% respectively.

“Relevant product innovations with the right marketing and promotional support helped the group achieve high sales during Chinese New Year,” it said.

The group said it will continue with its “Fuel the Growth” strategy, which strives for efficiency increases all over the supply chain, reinvesting realised improvements and intensifying its trade and consumer promotions. The group’s share price was down 50 sen to RM147.50 with some 167,800 shares changing hands.