Roland said the group will continue to focus on its EverGreen strategy to future-proof its business.
KUALA LUMPUR: Heineken Malaysia Bhd
expects the market to remain challenging in light of cautious consumer spending, although the absence of the one-off prosperity tax will have a positive impact on the group’s net profit this year.
Managing director Roland Bala said the group will stay agile to the volatile business environment and continue to focus on its EverGreen strategy to future-proof its business.
“We will continue to drive efficiency through cost optimisation across the organisation while investing in our brands and innovations,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, at a briefing yesterday on the company’s latest financial performance, Roland said he remained positive and constantly looking at the longer term.
On whether the company might consider opening a brewery in Sabah and Sarawak, he said: “All things are possible – we are (constantly) thinking about these things and I won’t divulge further than that. We do investigate all these and study it as well.
“We are exploring a lot of these possibilities. There is no rush as we currently have enough capacity to last us for quite a number of years, so there is no urgency to do so.”
In the second quarter ended June 30, 2023, Heineken recorded a net profit of RM90.47mil, as compared to RM86.07mil in the same quarter in 2022.
This was achieved on the back of lower tax charges, which mitigated the impact of weaker sales revenue and higher marketing expenses.
The group’s earnings per share was at 29.95 sen, up from 28.49 sen.
In line with the performance, the board of directors declared an interim dividend of 40 sen per share, with entitlement date on Oct 20, 2023 and payable on Nov 10, 2023.
Heineken’s revenue, meanwhile, dropped to RM569.24mil from RM644.58mil due to lower sales amid the weak consumer sentiment.
Basic earnings per share stood at 29.95 sen, versus 28.49 sen previously.
According to Roland, the group had a strong base in the second quarter of 2022, as the market experienced an upsurge in sales following the reopening of the economy and international borders due to the start of the endemic phase.
During that quarter, the group’s revenue was up 84% as compared to the second quarter of 2021.
“The group views this quarter’s performance as a form of market correction,” said Roland with regards to the weaker revenue in the second quarter of 2023.
For the first half of 2023, Heineken recorded a net profit of RM200.4mil on revenue of RM1.31bil as compared to a net profit of RM199.46mil and revenue of RM1.34bil previously.
