PETALING JAYA: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd
’s (F&N) sales performance is expected to remain strong in the second quarter of its current financial year (2Q24), driven by seasonal demand during the Chinese New Year period and resilient growth in tourist arrivals in Thailand.
Citing Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry, TA Research said 2023’s international tourist arrivals reached 28.2 million, marking the highest number of foreign tourists post-Covid.
“The Ministry aims to reactivate the tourism sector with 30-35 million international tourists by 2024, hence we anticipate that this recovery will strengthen the company’s Food and Beverages Thailand’s (F&B Thailand) out-of-home channel.
Kenanga Research meanwhile said F&N’s earnings outlook appears promising, bolstered by the normalisation of economic activities and consumer behaviour.
Additionally, the research house said the resurgence of international tourism in Malaysia and Thailand is expected to boost export sales.
“The company’s ongoing initiatives to strengthen its halal packaged food and dairy segments, as well as efforts to consolidate the manufacturing processes of its entire food business, are anticipated to enhance production capacity and streamline operations.”For F&N’s 1Q24 ended Dec 31, 2023, net profit declined by 14% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM170.7mil or earnings per share of 46.60 sen.Meanwhile, revenue was up by 9% y-o-y to RM1.3bil from RM1.2bil, driven by continuing momentum for F&B Thailand and Food and Beverages Malaysia (F&B Malaysia), higher exports and aided by favourable foreign exchange translation from a stronger Thai baht.
MIDF Research said revenue was driven not only by F&B Malaysia’s festive sales, but also by the heightened sales penetration of dairy and food products in Malaysia.
“This may indicate a slight change in Malaysian consumer preferences toward local brands. Meanwhile, the normalisation of most commodities to levels below their two-year peaks contributed to lower commodity costs.
