Home sales boost F&B giant’s Q4 earnings, RM1.40 final dividend declared

PETALING JAYA: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2019 rose 6.5% to RM131.82 million from RM123.82 million a year ago on the back of robust domestic sales.

Its revenue, however, fell 1.4% to RM1.33 billion compared with RM1.35 billion previously, impacted by subdued export demand against the backdrop of regional and global uncertainties.

The group recorded domestic sales growth of 2.8% or 4.7% after the adjustment for divestment of the chilled dairy business, driven by strong sales execution, product innovations and effective marketing activities.

Nestle has proposed a final dividend of RM1.40 per share for FY19. This will bring total dividends for the year to RM2.80 per share.

For the full-year period, its net profit grew 2.1% to RM672.91 million against RM658.88 million last year, while revenue was flat at RM5.52 billion.

“Our local sales growth at 4.7%, net of the chilled dairy divestment, is ahead of the market growth and confirms that our brands remain highly relevant and present in the life of Malaysians.

“Our solid performance in Malaysia was supported by strong operational sales execution, leveraging market trends and a sustained stream of innovations throughout the year, many of which are resonating well with our consumers,” said Nestle CEO Juan Aranols in a statement.

However, he said there will be pressure from external factors, including commodity prices or any of the several crisis that the world is confronting in this early part of the year.

“But we remain optimistic that with our strong fundamentals and our focus on consumer-driven commercial activities, we are well positioned to achieve continued growth in 2020.”