- Solid growth in domestic business with an increase in Turnover of 4.1%, driven by successful launch of new products and strong marketing support.
- Total Turnover of RM4.8 billion for the financial year ended 31 December 2014, a 0.4% increase compared to previous year.
- A final dividend of RM1.75 per share was proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
Amidst a challenging economic backdrop, Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad delivered solid growth in its domestic business with an increase in Turnover of 4.1% for its financial year ended 31 December 2014, compared to the previous year.
Mr. Alois Hofbauer, Managing Director of Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad, commented after the Group’s Annual General Meeting: “Our performance for the year was in line with expectations. We are encouraged by the sustained results recorded in 2014 despite the volatile economic environment and demanding market conditions, with our domestic business once again the growth driver. Our strong investments in marketing and promotional activities bore fruit, as evidenced by our improved domestic sales and expanded market share.”
Highlights for the 2014 included the ‘Lebih Kebaikan, Lebih Nilai’ campaign, building on Nestlé’s Nutrition, Health and Wellness platform, as well as the ‘Lebih Nilai, Lebih Funtastik’ promotion. Other promotional activities throughout the year along with launches of new products such as NESTLÉ Ais Krim Goreng, MAGGI Royale Penang Seafood Curry and Korean Spicy Braised Beef noodles, as well as the NESTLÉ KIT KAT RUBIES, enabled the Group to strengthen its market share in all major product categories, particularly in the Confectionery, Ice Cream and Liquid Drinks Businesses.
Growth was moderated by the export business, which remained on a downward trend due to lower demand from affiliated companies, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, which developed their own manufacturing capabilities. Despite the slowdown in exports and higher input costs in 2014, the Group’s consistent application of the Nestlé Continuous Excellence platform allowed for cost savings and operational improvements in productivity. Net profit for the year came in at RM550.4 million, a marginal drop from the previous year, while operating profit was down by 1.3%.
As part of the Group’s commitment towards enhancing value for shareholders, during the Annual General Meeting, the Board recommended a final dividend of RM1.75 per share in respect of the financial year ended 31 December 2014. This brings the total dividend for the financial year 2014 to RM2.35 sen per share.
Q1 FY2015
For the current financial year’s first quarter ended 31 March 2015, the Group continued the growth momentum on its domestic business to deliver a Turnover increase of 4.1%. The key contributor to growth was the nationwide consumer campaign, ‘Lebih Nilai, Lagi Hebat’, Nestlé’s largest promotion yet.
Meanwhile, export sales continued to see a slowdown during the first quarter of FY2015, although the impact was lower than in the preceding quarter, indicating signs of stabilisation. Commodity trends were also more favourable overall compared with the previous quarter. Gross profit increased by 5.3%, which led to an underlying margin improvement.
The Group’s investment in marketing and promotional activities was also higher, which saw the Group gaining greater market share. This resulted in an improved operating profit of RM250.9 million, up by 3.1% from last year’s corresponding quarter, while net profit was RM187.9 million, an 2.4% increase.
Outlook
Mr. Hofbauer added, “While there are challenges ahead, particularly with subdued consumer demand following the onset of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), we believe there is much potential to be tapped, and remain optimistic on long-term prospects. We will maintain our focus on organic growth as well as continuous product innovation and strategic marketing investments in order to strengthen our top and bottom line growth.”
“In line with this, our Sri Muda Factory in Shah Alam recently came on-stream and is set to be fully operational by August 2015. With this boost to our manufacturing capacity, we are poised to capitalise on a myriad of prospects, both in our domestic and export businesses,” concluded Mr. Hofbauer.
About Nestlé Malaysia
Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturer and a leader in Nutrition, Health and Wellness, is headquartered in Switzerland. Since 1866, Nestlé has been committed to providing high quality, tasty, safe and nutritious products to our consumers, in line with our promise of Good Food, Good Life. Nourishing Malaysians since 1912, Nestlé has earned the trust of our consumers through our quality brands and products, as well as our commitment to improve the lives of the communities in which we operate. At Nestlé, our consumers are at the heart of everything we do. We aim to delight our consumers by offering the best quality products; staying true to our Swiss roots while maintaining our Halal excellence and integrity. To learn more about how we have been nourishing Malaysians for over a century, do visit www.nestle.com.my or our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NestleMalaysia
For more information, please contact:
Maxine Lim
Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad
Tel: (+603) 7965 5185
Email: [email protected]
Joanne Lim or Yasmin Kadir
acorn communications
Tel: (+603) 7958 8348
Email: [email protected]
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